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So, basically I've been having this argument with my English teacher about this one grammar question. She wrote "I haven't any money" on the board and I told her that "I haven't any money" is wrong, she said I was wrong and told me to google more about it. So I googled about it and somehow it's outdated but it's still right? Isn't this supposed to not be taught to kids in school who are going to grow up writing formal essays with these lessons? Especially if she could've just wrote "I haven't got any money" just to make the message more clear and day instead of writing something outdated used in the centuries. I just wanna know if my opinion is wrong and if I am being arrogant or not.

Rania
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Samuel
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    They're both fine, the version with "got" is perhaps more common in the British English dialect. There's also: "I don't have any money" and " I have no money" – Mari-Lou A Mar 27 '22 at 16:50
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    Same here, I question authority and assume they're wrong and I'm right. Yet, your question shows there's plenty of learning ahead. Perhaps drinking it all in will move you ahead more than fighting back will. – Yosef Baskin Mar 27 '22 at 16:57
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    To answer your ultimate questions, yes, your opinion is wrong, and yes, you’re being arrogant about it. The phrase you object to is used in modern speech and is certainly not “outdated used in the centuries”. That said, mama Yosef noted, challenging authority is in no way inherently wrong, but you have to moderate it with a sense of personal humility and willingness to learn — and to be wrong. – Dan Bron Mar 27 '22 at 17:00
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    The arrogance in claiming someone to be wrong can only seen in the way you do that. As your relating of this event shows in no manner how you said it, there is no way to tell whether you were arrogant or not. – LPH Mar 27 '22 at 17:57
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    Does this answer your question? “I haven't got” vs. “I don't have” //'I've been having this argument with me and my English teacher' might indicate that ELL is the better choice of site to ask further questions for the time being. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 27 '22 at 18:23
  • It's English. By definition it's outdated. – Hot Licks Mar 27 '22 at 18:46
  • @EdwinAshworth 'I've been having this argument with me and my English teacher' is semantically imperfect and yet, it sounds native like. What if the word order was reversed: "Me and my teacher have been having this argument”? Should the OP still go to a site for learners of English? – Mari-Lou A Mar 27 '22 at 19:39
  • For what it's worth the question can be answered with a "yes" "no" answer because the OP asks whether the form "haven't any money" is old fashioned and no longer used (outdated). It's not a Primarily Opinion-Based question. Everything else is though. – Mari-Lou A Mar 27 '22 at 19:40
  • @Mari-LouA - I see the question has been edited to remove the unnecessary me and. The OP hasn't been arguing with himself as well as his teacher! Reversing the order, it should strictly be My teacher and I have been having an argument. Me and my teacher is incorrect but commonly used by careless speakers. – Kate Bunting Mar 28 '22 at 07:21
  • @KateBunting People say things all the time that do not make logical sense. Nothing extraordinary there. I was observing that the OP sounds like a native speaker because they said "me and my teacher" which is typical of many English dialects. – Mari-Lou A Mar 28 '22 at 07:26
  • @Mari-Lou A 'Especially if she could've just wrote "I haven't got any money" ' clinches the deal. You've forced me to use more red ink just to satisfy ... er .... – Edwin Ashworth Mar 28 '22 at 14:47

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An ngram of comparison of UK and US English show that this is correct in both languages and somewhat more frequent in the former.

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A comparison of this form with the synonymous form using "got", that being done irrespective of the sort of English considered, shows that the two forms are used equally. (ngram).

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In the UK the form using "got" is more frequent. (ngram)

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In the US the two forms are used equally frequently nowadays. (ngram)

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LPH
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  • Why did you use "not" in your queries? I think you should search for the contracted form. (I can't remember how to do so in Google ngrams, but I know it's a different search.) – Laurel Mar 27 '22 at 20:23
  • @Laurel It seems to me that the search "have not" includes all "haven't", and vice versa. Compare "have not,haven't" and "haven't". There is a sorting out of the two only in the pages of examples. – LPH Mar 28 '22 at 03:22