en
cs
da
de
it
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？
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）。
Classroom activity: "What do you have?"
Whole class
15-20 minutes
Pictures of objects from a particular category (e.g., fruits or stationery—choose items students are familiar with, such as fruits for this example). Prepare two sets of pictures for each fruit and place them in two separate piles.
- Divide the class into two rows, standing at the front of the classroom, facing each other. Distribute the pictures to the students in both rows.
- Students in the first row ask the second row questions based on the pictures they hold, such as 你有香蕉吗/你有香蕉嗎？？ or 你有几个香蕉/你有幾個香蕉？ The second-row students respond based on their pictures, saying, for example, 我有两个香蕉/我有兩個香蕉。 or 我没有香蕉/我沒有香蕉。 Each round of questioning lasts about 15-20 seconds.
- After the first round, the students in the first row move one position to the right for a new round of questioning. The second row remains stationary.
- The teacher can decide when to end the activity based on time or progress. If desired, the teacher can prepare pictures of a different category of items for another round of the activity.