have got

Owning something, and describing a body or a family — the structure that carries half of a young learner's speaking.

From age 4Cambridge level: Pre-A1 Starters

Age: Ages 4–11
Level: Pre-A1
Skill: Grammar
Format: Teacher guide

The pattern

Saying it: I have got / she has got
Saying no: I haven't got
Asking: Have you got…?
Short answer: Yes, I have. / No, I haven't.

Printable worksheet Presentation (PPT)

Sentences a child can say

Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.

Mini exercise: choose the right word

Five sentences from this page, each with a word missing. A child taps the word that fits and, once it is right, hears the whole sentence.

I blank got a cat.
She blank got a red bag.
I blank got a pencil.
blank you got a dog?
blank she got a sister?

What you will actually hear

The mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one, with a tag on those a first language makes typical.

She have got a cat.She has got a cat.

He, she and it take has. This is the one form worth drilling.

I have got two eye.I have got two eyes.

More than one takes the -s. Body parts are where children first meet it.

Have you a dog?Have you got a dog?

Keep got in the question at this age; it is the pattern they will hear back.

How to teach it

1
Put a real object in their hands before the sentence. Ownership is easier to say when it is literally held.
2
Move from I to she only when I is automatic. Mixing both while both are new is where has/have confusion is born.
3
Body parts are the fastest win: two eyes, one nose, ten fingers. Countable, visible, and already on the child.
4
Play a guessing game with cards face down: “Have you got a…?” Trading and asking is the whole lesson.

Topic packs that pair with this

Same structure, words your class already knows — no new vocabulary needed.

My body Family Pets Toys & fun School

Questions teachers ask

Have got or have — which do I teach?

Have got for young learners. It is what British course books use, it is what the Cambridge Starters papers expect, and the short answer (“Yes, I have.”) is easier for a child than the do-support have needs.

My pupils keep saying “she have”. What actually fixes it?

Not correction — frequency. Give them twenty she has sentences in a game before you ever give them a rule. The ear fixes it faster than the explanation does.