For me, here in Toronto, "have you got" is strange in the sense that I would notice it if someone said it. I would say "do you have" reigns supreme here, with maybe an informal version as "d'ya have". Although as statements, "I have" and "I've got" are both very common, and here I'd say "I've got" is definitely the informal version.

But my question is do some people use "have you" in the sense of "do you have"? That would sound very archaic to my ears.

خلاصه: من در کانادا بیشتر از ?Do you have استفاده می کنم و شکل ?Have you به گوش من غیر مصطلح می آید.

In speech I think I use "have you got" more than "do you have", but then I am quite old; young people in the UK seem to prefer "do you have".

In response to "Have you got....?" I say "Yes, I have"/"No, I haven't", but a younger person might well say "Yes, I do"/"No, I don't".

در همین جا یک فرد کهنسال انگلیسی می گوید: من شکل دوم را به کار می برم اما جوانان دوست دارند از شکل اول استفاده کنند.

در اینجا هم گفته شده است که مورد سوم بیشتر حالت کتابی دارد و خارج از کتاب چندان کاربرد ندارد.

(1) Have you a pineapple?

Here we're using the stative meaning of have, 'to possess'. In the English of England*, only the stative meaning of lexical have can be an operator. (In Scotland and Ireland it may be possible, according to Trudgill, to use a more dynamic meaning of have as an operator, as in Had you pineapple for lunch?) Operator use of stative have is, according to John Algeo, "said to be somewhat old-fashioned British [...], but it is hardly imaginable in American" (p. 30). Americans know of it, of course, from the nursery song Baa, baa, black sheep (have you any wool?), but outside of storybook contexts, they wouldn't expect to run into it.

 در همی جا نویسنده دست به یک آمارگیری در استفاده از این ۳ حالت زده است و در آخر نتیجه گرفته است که اگر در گوشه ای از خیابانی در امریکا یا انگلستان هستید و از کسی می خواهید که یک آناناس دارد یا نه کدام کاربرد معمول تر است و کدام از نرم جامعه فاصله دارد.

AmE: Do you have = 3092, Have you got = 99.  So 31:1.
BrE:  Do you have = 245, Have you got = 450.  So 1:<2.

Now, whether the two corpora are really comparable is debatable, but it's worth noting that COCA is about 20% spoken language and BNC is just under 18% spoken--so it shouldn't be just a difference in spoken-versus-written proportions that is making the differences so stark.


So, the lessons of today are:

  • If you are on a UK street corner, say Have you got a pineapple?
  • If you are on a US street corner, say Do you have a pineapple?
  • If you say Have you a pineapple?, you risk assault for non-normative behavio(u)r.

در اینجا هم کاربرد have را در معنای داشتن به صورت فعل کمکی چندان معمول نمی داند. و استفاده از آن به عنوان فعل کمکی همراه با  got درست می داند.


Karen Adams answers:
‘Have’ is a very interesting verb because it has many purposes. Sometimes it’s an auxiliary verb, for example in the present perfect – ‘I’ve seen that film’ – ‘have’ here doesn’t really have a meaning, it just helps support the main verb ‘see’. Other auxiliary verbs are verbs such as ‘do’ so – ‘Do you have a pen?’ where ‘do’ is the auxiliary verb. But in the example – ‘do you have a pen?’, ‘have’ actually is a main verb, it has some meaning. It means own or possess. So sometimes ‘have’ is an auxiliary verb and sometimes it’s a main verb.



In the question we’re asked about the difference between ‘I haven’t’ and ‘I don’t have’. When we use ‘I don’t have’, for example – ‘I don’t have a pen’ – we’re using ‘have’ as a main verb meaning to own or possess: ‘I don’t have a car’ – ‘Do you have a pencil?’ We need the auxiliary verb ‘do’ to help support the main verb ‘have’. Occasionally you’ll hear someone say – ‘I haven’t a clue’, but using ‘haven’t’ in this way isn’t really usual. So for example we wouldn’t normally say ‘I haven’t a pen’ or ‘I haven’t a book’. We would normally say – ‘I don’t have a book’, or ‘I don’t have pen’.

In British English, of course, you might also hear ‘I’ve got’: ‘I’ve got a book’, ‘I’ve got a pen’, ‘I’ve got a new car’. Here ‘have’ is playing the part of the auxiliary verb and this is where we can use ‘haven’t’: ‘I haven’t got a book’, ‘I haven’t got a pen’, ‘Have you got a new car?’

It’s important to remember then that ‘have’ can be a main verb or an auxiliary verb. If it’s a main verb you need another auxiliary to support it, such as ‘do’. ‘Do you have a new car?’

When it’s an auxiliary verb it’s helping another verb – ‘Have you got a new car?’ But please try to avoid – ‘I haven’t a new car.’