Sentence Meaning Formality – ‘I Have’ vs ‘I Have Got’

formalitysentence-meaning

I don't know what is the difference between using "I have got" and "I have"
For example:

  • He's got broad shoulders.

Is it possible to say:

  • He has broad shoulders.

If yes, so what is the difference?

Best Answer

They both mean the same thing, but, in the context of formal writing, stick with the second one. If you are writing a résumé, for example, you would want to avoid statements like:

I have got six years of experience programming in Java

and if you were requesting some vacation days next month, you wouldn't want to begin an email to your boss with:

I have got a wedding to attend next month...

Instead, it would be better to write:

I have six years of experience programming in Java

and:

I have a wedding to attend next month...

In casual conversation, though, it would be considered acceptable to use the "got" version – but you still wouldn't want to overuse it.

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