Posted by Because British English is very different from American English, I’m going to have to break it down as much as I can while sitting in this cafe, watching a vicious storm approach me.
Normally in America we say, “do you have a pencil?”
However, in England they say, “have you got a pencil?”
Until I started teaching at a language center in Thailand, I had never heard of the present perfect tense before in my life. I remember singing the parts of speech in school, but after that, parts of speech were a thing of the past. Honestly, I remember singing them around 2nd-3rd grade.
However, I ended up getting completely wrecked sophomore year of high school because I didn’t know what a subject, article, noun, verb, adjective, adverb or anything was. It took 8 hours and a Mexican girl (emphasizing her nationality because English wasn’t her first language) named Oneida to help me from disaster.
Jack has got one brother.
She hasn’t got a pencil.
Has Mandy got any brothers or sisters?
Yes, she has. No, she hasn’t.
Affirmative
I/you/we/they have got three cousins.
He/she/it has got three cousins.
Negative
Hasn’t/haven’t got
Question
Have I/you/we/they got three cousins.
Short Answers
Yes, I/you/we/they have. No, I/you/we/they haven’t.
Yes, she/he/it has. No, he/she/it hasn’t.
Make true sentences in the affirmative or negative.
- I ______________ a sister.
- We _________________ a cat.
- My mother _______________ blue eyes.
- I ________________ short hair.
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