英语语法：185 Is "Have Got" Acceptable English?

Grammar Girl here.

Today’s topic is whether the phrase “have got” is good English or not.

And now, guest-writer Bonnie Trenga answers an e-mail from a listener, Lee, who says, “A pet peeve¹ of mine is the frequent use of the ‘have got’ phrase, such as ‘I have got a [something or other]’ or ‘I’ve got a [something or other],’ when ‘I have a [something or other]’ is completely sufficient.”

We all have phrases that bother us. I hate it when I see “It was a chill night” instead of “It was a chilly² night.” Alas³, I get all bent⁴ out of shape for no reason. Much as I dislike “chill” instead of “chilly,” there’s nothing wrong with it. Likewise, all four sources I consulted about the “have got” issue agree that this phrase is, in fact, good English.

Added Emphasis

The phrases “has got” and “have got” are somewhat informal and are often contracted, as in “He’s got” and “They’ve got.” Although this expression has long been criticized as an unnecessary substitution for the verb “to have,” it is perfectly⁵ idiomatic⁶. It simply adds emphasis (1). In American English, “have got” is an intensive form of “have” (2). For example, if I say, “I’ve got a really big TV,” I’m placing more emphasis on my possession of the TV than if I say, “I have a really big TV.” If you say you haven’t got any money, you’re stressing the fact that you’re broke. Note that you can use “has got” or “have got” only in the present tense. If you want to talk in the past tense about your enormous TV, you would say, “I had a really big TV.” You would probably use expressive⁷ intonation⁸ to add emphasis.

American English Versus⁹ British English

How often you use “have got” instead of “have” depends on where you’re from. In American speech, “the form without ‘got’ is used more than in the UK” (3), so in other words, Americans tend to say, “have” and the British tend to say, “have got.” For example, according to The New Fowler's Modern English Usage*, in Britain, you’re more likely to hear the question “Have you got this book in stock?” whereas in America, “Do you have this book in stock?” would be more common (4). As I’ve said, it’s perfectly fine to say, “have got” if you’re in America, though it is less formal than plain old “have.” Even less formal than “have got”—and probably considered objectionable by most grammarians—is simply “got” by itself. You might have heard of the Spike¹⁰ Lee movie “He Got Game.” I don’t think Spike considered calling it “He Has Game.” “He got” is a very colloquial¹¹ way of saying, “he has.”

Obligation

“Have got” also has another meaning: to indicate necessity or obligation. Saying, “have got” is a little stronger than saying, “must” (5). So if I’m running late, I might tell my friend, “I have got to go now,” with the emphasis on the word “got.” And my friend might tell me, “You have got to stop being late so often.” When we’re speaking to friends, we might leave out the “have,” as in “I got to go now.” We might even say, “I gotta go now.” These two are considered colloquial English. You shouldn’t write these two sentences in a formal English essay. You can use “must” or “have to” instead.

This show was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at。。。You can reach me, Grammar Girl, at quickanddirtytips.com. Thanks for listening.

*Note: Fowler's is a usage guide whose emphasis, particularly in the earlier editions, is on British English usage.

 

1 peeve   

v.气恼，怨恨；n.麻烦的事物，怨恨

参考例句：

• She was in a peeve over it.她对这很气恼。
• She was very peeved about being left out.她为被遗漏而恼怒。

2 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

3 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

4 bent   

n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的

参考例句：

• He was fully bent upon the project.他一心扑在这项计划上。
• We bent over backward to help them.我们尽了最大努力帮助他们。

5 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

6 idiomatic   

adj.成语的，符合语言习惯的

参考例句：

• In our reading we should always be alert for idiomatic expressions.我们在阅读过程中应经常注意惯用法。
• In his lecture,he bore down on the importance of idiomatic usage in a language.他在演讲中着重强调了语言中习惯用法的重要性。

7 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

8 intonation   

n.语调，声调；发声

参考例句：

• The teacher checks for pronunciation and intonation.老师在检查发音和语调。
• Questions are spoken with a rising intonation.疑问句是以升调说出来的。

9 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

10 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

11 colloquial   

adj.口语的，会话的

参考例句：

• It's hard to understand the colloquial idioms of a foreign language.外语里的口头习语很难懂。
• They have little acquaintance with colloquial English. 他们对英语会话几乎一窍不通。