Can one answer "Have you got...?" with "Yes, I've got."?

Question

As an American in Europe I often get questions about the British "have got" which is hard for me to answer since I have little feeling for what is correct. E.g. someone today asked me:

If someone asks me, "Have you got a pencil" and I say, "Yes, I've got." Is this incorrect?

I told him, "Yes, that is incorrect, you should either say, 'Yes, I have' or 'Yes, I've got a pencil."

I know, as an American speaker, I would answer, "Yes, I do" but in a British context, is my answer above correct?

This would be the violation of verb valency http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valency_%28linguistics%29 — Unreason, Oct 25 '11 at 09:33
There are lots of grammatically and colloquially valid responses, but I'd guess the most likely response is a mumble along the lines of "sure" followed by some rummaging through a bag. — kojiro, Oct 25 '11 at 12:28

score 8 · Answer 1 · edited Oct 11 '12 at 09:25

8

No native speaker of BrE would normally say Yes, I’ve got in that context. The reply might, as you say, be Yes, I have or Yes, I’ve got a pencil depending on the circumstances. A further possibility, in BrE as well is in AmE, is certainly Yes, I do.

edited Oct 11 '12 at 09:25

Alenanno

18,136

answered Oct 25 '11 at 09:25

Barrie England

140,205

7

Also "Yes I've got one", "Yes", "Sure", or simply handing over a pencil. :-) – ShreevatsaR Oct 25 '11 at 09:41
Isn't "Yes, I do" the reply to "Do you have a pencil"? It sounds a bit strange to me here. – Tim Lymington Oct 25 '11 at 09:46
I agree. It depends, as always, on the circumstances, and on the relationship between the speakers. – Barrie England Oct 25 '11 at 09:47
@ Tim: I think various combinations might be found, depending on . . . – Barrie England Oct 25 '11 at 10:00
2

In American English, I think some speakers reserve "Yes, I have" for the use of "have" as an auxiliary verb signifying completed action. ("Have you gotten a birthday present for Mom yet?" "Yes I have.") This is why "Yes, I do" is a natural response to the construction "Have you got ... ?" in the sense of possession. – Peter Shor Oct 25 '11 at 16:57
@Tim: Ah, didn't know that. Thanks. – Barrie England Oct 26 '11 at 19:25

MTesol Phan phi Phong3p · Answer 2 · 2014-09-14T16:25:07.487

-1

In my opinion, if we use "Have" as an auxiliary verb in the question, in the answer we should use it.

E.g. : Have you got a pencil ? Yes, I have.

We should not use auxiliary verb "do" in the answer for this case. On the contrary, if we use : Do you have a pencil ?

Then its answer will be : Yes, I do.

(MTesol Phan phi Phong3p)

edited Sep 14 '14 at 16:25

answered Sep 14 '14 at 16:16

MTesol Phan phi Phong3p

11
1

This doesn't appear to be the way American English works. – Andrew Leach Sep 14 '14 at 18:38

Can one answer "Have you got...?" with "Yes, I've got."?

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