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plCommon errors
有 is primarily used to indicate “possession” and “existence,” and the errors related to 有 can also be divided into these two main categories.
1. 有 indicating “possession”
1.1. Error relating to negation
The sentence with 有 can only be negated by 没/沒, and the fixed position is 没有/沒有.
*他不有时间。
他没有时间。
*他有没时间。
他没有时间。
*他不有時間。
他沒有時間。
*他有沒時間。
他沒有時間。
In negative sentences, the object of 有 should generally not be preceded by a numeral-measure word phrase, unless the number is the focus of comparison or contrast.
*我没有一张电影票。
我没有电影票。
我没有一张电影票，我有两张。
*我沒有一張電影票。
我沒有電影票。
我沒有一張電影票，我有兩張。
Note: The only way to add a numeral-measure word phrase in a negative sentence with 有 is to transform the sentence above into the following one.
我一张电影票也没有。
我一張電影票也沒有。
1.2. Errors relating to the object
When the object is a concrete thing, there is usually an attributive(s) before the object, such as a numeral, a measure word, or some adjectives. However, exceptions to this rule include 1) the question form, 2) answering a question, 3) a sentence of comparison, and 4) more than one object (listing).
我有钱。
This sentence can have two meanings: I have money
(in answer to: Do you have money?) or I am wealthy.
我有錢。
我有一些钱。
我有三百块钱。
A：你有钱吗？ B：我有钱。/ 有。/我有。
我有苹果、香蕉和李子。
我有一些錢。
我有三百塊錢。
A：你有錢嗎？ B：我有錢。／有。／我有。
我有蘋果、香蕉和李子。
1.3. Errors relating to the question form
There are two ways to transform the sentence with 有 to a question: using 有没有/有沒有 or adding the question particle 吗/嗎 at the end of the sentence. But it is not allowed to use both ways in a sentence.
*你有没有自行车吗？
你有没有自行车？
你有自行车吗？
*你有沒有自行車嗎？
你有沒有自行車？
你有自行車嗎？
2. 有 indicating “existence”
2.1. Wrong order
The fixed order of the existential sentence is:
*有一家银行我们学校后面。
我们学校后面有一家银行。
*有一家銀行我們學校後面。
我們學校後面有一家銀行。
2.2. Incorrect addition of the preposition
A common error when using 有 in an existential sentence is the incorrect addition of a preposition before the word indicating the location.
*在桌子上有一本书。
There is a book on the table.
(In this existential sentence, no preposition is needed before the location word.)
*在桌子上有一本書。
桌子上有一本书。
I placed a book on the table.
(Here, the preposition “在” is necessary because it is part of the prepositional phrase that indicates the action of placing something somewhere.)
桌子上有一本書。
To highlight the difference between an existential sentence and other sentences that involve a location, the following sentences can be discussed with the students.
桌子上有一本书。
我在桌子上放了一本书。
桌子上有一本書。
我在桌子上放了一本書。
2.3. Missing the directional word
When the subject is not a location but a common noun, a noun-localizer is necessary to be added after the noun. Learners may forget to add the directional word or put the directional word in the wrong position.
*帽子有一朵花。
帽子上有一朵花。
*旁边的图书馆有一家小饭馆。
图书馆的旁边有一家小饭馆。
*旁邊的圖書館有一家小飯館。
圖書館的旁邊有一家小飯館。
2.4. Errors relating to the object
In an affirmative existential sentence, there is usually an attributive modifying the object, such as a numeral phrase or an adjective. However, there are exceptions where no attributive is used, such as listing more than one object or involving a comparison.
房间里有书。
房间里有很多书。
房间里有几本书。
房间里有书、床、桌子、柜子。
房间里有书，没有书包。
房間裡有書。
房間裡有很多書。
房間裡有幾本書。
房間裡有書、床、桌子、櫃子。
房間裡有書，沒有書包。
On the other hand, attributives should not be used in negative existential sentences.
*我的房间里没有一本书。
我的房间里没有书。
*我的房間裡沒有一本書。
我的房間裡沒有書。
The object introduced in an existential sentence is usually new information to the listener, and therefore, the object should be indefinite.
*房间里有这本书。
房间里有一本书。
If definite nouns are introduced in the sentence, the existential sentence should be avoided.
*书桌上有我的电脑。
书桌上有一台电脑。
我的电脑在书桌上。
*書桌上有我的電腦。
書桌上有一台電腦。
我的電腦在書桌上。
Errors caused by native transfer
有 is commonly translated into “to have” and “there is/are” in English in the textbooks. English learners may make errors such as *我有疼痛 or *我有发烧/我有發燒. The instructor should explain to learners that 有, indicating possession, should be followed by nouns or nominal phrases. Words like 发烧/發燒 and 牙疼 are verb phrases, so they can function as predicates without the need for 有.
*我有发烧。
我发烧（了）。
*我有發燒。
我發燒（了）。