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I'm wondering if in Australian or Canadian English you can use " 've" before a noun phrase in informal style:

  • I've a car.
  • They've a great time.

The question is somewhat related to this one. The thread there shows that you can say this in British English but not in American English. Yet no one mentions AusE or CanE there.

herisson
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Khrystyna
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  • Hello, Khrystyna. What do you mean by 'also' here? I think that 'I've a car' for 'I have/possess a car' would be very rarely used in the States. It would be quite normal in conversations in the UK, but not as a stand-alone, where 'I've got a car.' is standard. 'I've a car that will do over 60 to the gallon, but I use the other one because it's a lot quicker.' / 'They've a great time.' sounds unnatural as a stand-alone, but 'They've a great time ahead of them.' is quite idiomatic in the UK. – Edwin Ashworth Oct 02 '17 at 14:23
  • Hi @EdwinAshworth! Thanks for the comment. By "also" I meant exactly British English as you mentioned. I will edit my question. Thanks! – Khrystyna Oct 03 '17 at 15:48
  • In spoken AuE, the 'h' may be swallowed and words run together, but this doesn't normally translate to the written form. – Lawrence Oct 03 '17 at 15:59

1 Answers1

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I'm a Canadian in my sixties and have lived in three different regions of the country. I've never heard "I've" as a contraction of "I have" in the sense of ownership.

Al Maki
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