Aki
Does she have? Has she? I have a question. When someone has something, we write like "She has a pen." What is the question form? I thought "Does she have a pen?", but I think I see like "Has she a pen?" from time to time. Does it depend on a situation or which language we use, such as British English or American English?
Aug 17, 2018 9:07 AM
Answers · 7
4
"Has she a pen?" is very outdated and unnatural. Nobody says this. It sounds like something out of a grammar book written a hundred years ago. In modern English, there are two ways of asking questions ( and making negatives) with 'have': 1. When it's an auxiliary verb, we use an inversion: She has been to Paris ---> Has she been to Paris? Yes, she has/No, she hasn't 2. When it's a main verb, we use 'do': i. Meaning 'possess' : She has a pen ----> Does she have a pen? ii. With any other meaning : She has breakfast ----> Does she have breakfast ? Yes, she does/No, she doesn't Exceptions to this rule: 1. When we use 'have got' as an alternative to 'have': She's got a pen ----> Has she got a pen? Yes, she has/ No, she hasn't In this common idiomatic usage, 'have' functions as an auxiliary verb, so we make a question with an inversion, and negate by adding 'n't. It is more informal than 'Do you have?'. You wouldn't use it in a business letter, and you may not hear it in a court of law. It is perfectly correct and natural, however. 2. There is a 'grey area', particularly in British English, where it's possible to use this auxiliary-style construction without 'got' if it's followed by 'no' or 'any', for example 'Have you any money?' or 'Have you no shame?'. This is relatively unusual, though, and is not something which you need to learn about. It is more usual to say 'Do you have any money?'.
August 17, 2018
1
"Does she have a pen?” is correct. "Has she a pen?” would be correct a long time ago in Britain, but no one speaks like this anymore :) Edit: Though *some* upper class people may still use such phrases in Britain from time to time.
August 17, 2018
I disagree with the 2 commenters a bit. You can say "Has she a pen?" in the US anyway. but it would be less common eg: Q: Does the girl have a pen? A: Yes, she has a pencil. Q: Has she a pen, though ? Is perfectly modern English IMO
August 18, 2018
Oh.... I don't know how to mark this question as resolved...
August 17, 2018
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