Have and have got

Have is often used to talk about ideas such as possession, relationships, individual characteristics, illnesses etc.

She has two daughters.
He has a bad temper.
He has no patience.
I have a bad cold.

Instead of have, we often use have got. Got forms of have are especially common in an informal style.

She has got two daughters.
He has got a German girlfriend. (More natural than ‘He has a German girlfriend.’)

In questions and negatives, have is almost always used with got or do. Note that in American English, short question and negative forms like have I? and I have not are not normally used.

Has she got a new car? OR Does she have a new car? (More natural than ‘Has she a new car?’)
I haven’t got an answer. (More natural than ‘I haven’t an answer.’)
She does not have manners. OR She hasn’t got manners. (More natural than ‘She hasn’t manners.’)

Note that got-forms of have are common in the present. They are not normally used in the past. We don’t, for example, say had got.

I had a strange experience last week. (NOT I had got a strange experience last week.)