1. Asking about having, not obtaining
To ask whether someone has something, English needs a question structure. Have describes what a person has: an object, time, family or access to something. It does not necessarily mean ownership: you can ask about a key that a colleague currently has.
For present possession or availability, Do you have …? and Have you got …? convey the same basic meaning. Choose one framework and build it consistently.
Do you have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
We need to know whether a pen is available now, not when it was bought.
Have you got a pen?
Have you got a pen?
A different question framework with the same meaning of present possession or availability.
2. Do or does at the beginning, have after the subject
Use do with I, you, we, they and plural subjects. Use does with he, she, it and a single person or thing.
After do/does, use the base form have. The third-person marking is already carried by does: She has … becomes Does she have …?.
Do + I/you/we/they + have …? | Does + he/she/it + have …?
Does your sister have a bike?
Does your sister have a bike?
Your sister is one person: use does, but have after the subject.
Do these rooms have windows?
Do these rooms have windows?
These rooms is plural, so use do.
3. Have or has at the beginning, got after the subject
In the have got framework, move have/has before the subject. Use have with I/you/we/they and plural subjects; use has with he/she/it and singular subjects.
This structure does not need do/does. Do not combine Does she … with have got …: choose Does she have …? or Has she got …?.
Have + I/you/we/they + got …? | Has + he/she/it + got …?
Has she got any money?
Has she got any money?
Has comes before she, and got stays after the subject.
Have the guests got their keys?
Have the guests got their keys?
The guests is plural: use have, not has.
4. A short answer follows the chosen framework
In a standard short answer, repeat the question's auxiliary rather than the whole topic: Do …? → do/don't; Does …? → does/doesn't; Have … got? → have/haven't; Has … got? → has/hasn't.
Do not contract affirmative have at the end of a short answer: Yes, I have. Negative contractions are possible: No, I haven't. In a fuller answer, a contraction before got is natural: Yes, I've got one.
When answering about yourself, you in the question becomes I. If the question concerns you and your group, the answer may begin with we.
Does Leo have a ticket? — Yes, he does.
Does Leo have a ticket? — Yes, he does.
The question uses does; the answer about Leo uses he does.
Have you got a map? — No, I haven't.
Have you got a map? — No, I haven't.
Have returns in the negative short answer; got is not repeated.
Have you got a map? — Yes, I have.
Have you got a map? — Yes, I have.
Final affirmative have stays in its full form.
5. What someone has: objects, quantities and time
Both frameworks can take question words. When asking about an object or quantity, put what or how many + noun first, then retain question word order.
Any often appears in neutral questions about an unknown quantity. It is not compulsory in every question: Do you have money? is also possible, while Do you have a key? asks about one key. The focus here is question structure, not automatically replacing every expression with any.
How many chairs does the room have?
How many chairs does the room have?
How many chairs is followed by does + subject + have.
What have you got in your bag?
What have you got in your bag?
What asks about the contents; have + you + got keeps its order.
Do you have any time now?
Do you have any time now?
Any works when we do not know whether even a little time is available; the question is also possible without any.
6. Varieties of English and the scope of this lesson
Do you have …? is a familiar, widely usable option, especially common in American English. Have you got …? is heard more often in British conversation, but it is not prohibited in American English.
You may also encounter Have you a car?, a grammatical, more formal British question without got. The main practice here covers the two common frameworks; the less frequent option is not thereby an error.
Do not confuse having something now with obtaining it. Did you get a ticket? grammatically asks about a past event of obtaining a ticket, not simply present possession. Have in a habitual action, such as eating breakfast every day, also has a different meaning: Do you have breakfast at home? should not be mechanically replaced by a have got question.
Have you a car?
Have you a car?
A possible formal British variant, not an example of a grammatical error.
Did you get a ticket?
Did you get a ticket?
A correct question about obtaining something in the past; it is not equivalent to every question about possession.
Do you have breakfast at home?
Do you have breakfast at home?
Have denotes an action, not ownership of breakfast; this illustrates the lesson's boundary rather than its main target.
7. Use the questions in conversation
First decide what you need to find out: whether something is available, whether another person has it, or how much of something there is. Then choose one framework and check the subject.
To keep a conversation going, answer briefly and add a useful question. You may invent people and circumstances in your own tasks; personal details are unnecessary. The example shows one option, but natural wording that preserves the intention also works.
Have you got the address? — Yes, I have. Does the house have a blue door?
Have you got the address? — Yes, I have. Does the house have a blue door?
The short answer with have matches the first question; a new question may use the other framework.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Does he has a car?
Correct:Does he have a car?
Does requires the base form have; do not use has after it.
Incorrect:Do you has a pen?
Correct:Do you have a pen?
Do also requires have, regardless of what the question is about.
Incorrect:Has they got the keys?
Correct:Have they got the keys?
They is plural; the got framework requires have.
Incorrect:Does she have got a phone?
Correct:Does she have a phone?
The does framework uses have without got. Another correct repair is Has she got a phone?.
Incorrect:Yes, I've.
Correct:Yes, I have.
In a standard affirmative short answer, final have cannot be contracted with its subject.