When do we use negative contractions?

'Have got vs have'; when do we use negative contractions? In this lesson, Shane Talia, our Independent Learning Centre Coordinator explains for us.

When do we use negative contractions?

'Have got vs have'; when do we use negative contractions? In this lesson, Shane Talia, our Independent Learning Centre Coordinator explains for us.

This tip follows on from the tip about using "have got" and the contraction "I've got" in everyday speech. How do you make negative statements using both "I have got" and "I have"?

First of all, the negative form of "I have got" is "I have not got." But we never use this full form; we always contract it. We say, "I haven't got," and "She," "He," or, "It hasn't got."

For the negative of "have," you may have learnt to say "I haven't," as in the statement, "I haven't any money," to contract the negative form, but this is considered very old-fashioned, and even out-of-date in Australia.

Instead, we add the auxiliary or helping verb "do" or "does," and we add a negative "not." We then shorten the auxiliary and the negative like this: "I don't have," and, "She," "He," or, "It doesn't have."

So we can say, "I haven't got any money," or, "I don't have any money," for everyday speech.

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16 September 2020

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When do we use negative contractions?