Tôi có... — Talking about what you have

What you will learn

You already used có for existence. Now you will use it for possession: what a person has, owns, carries or has available.

1. Person + có + thing

• Tôi có xe máy. — I have a motorbike.
• Em có điện thoại. — I have a phone, said as em.
• Anh có thời gian. — I have time, said as anh.
• Chị có hai con. — I have two children, said as chị.

2. Compare existence and possession

• Trong nhà có xe máy. — There is a motorbike in the house.
• Tôi có xe máy. — I have a motorbike.

The same word có appears, but the sentence is organized differently.

3. Ask what someone has

A very useful pattern is:

... có ... không?

• Anh có xe máy không? — Do you have a motorbike?
• Chị có tiền mặt không? — Do you have cash?
• Em có thời gian không? — Do you have time?

You will study this question frame in more detail in B15.

4. Negative possession

• Tôi không có xe. — I do not have a vehicle.
• Em không có tiền mặt. — I do not have cash.
• Anh không có nhiều thời gian. — I do not have much time.

5. A short conversation

Lan: Anh có xe máy không?

David: Không, anh không có xe máy.

Lan: Anh có xe đạp không?

David: Có. Anh có một chiếc xe đạp.

Lan: Vậy anh thường đi làm bằng xe đạp à?

David: Đúng rồi.

6. Có does not always mean ownership

Tôi có thời gian does not mean you “own” time. Có can express having something available, being in a state of possession, or having a relationship.

• Tôi có hai anh trai. — I have two older brothers.
• Tôi có một câu hỏi. — I have a question.
• Tôi có thời gian. — I have time.

7. Useful vocabulary

• xe máy — motorbike
• xe đạp — bicycle
• điện thoại — phone
• tiền mặt — cash
• thời gian — time
• câu hỏi — question
• anh trai — older brother
• con — child; also a classifier/relationship word in other contexts

8. Vietnam in real life

Asking whether someone has a motorbike, children, siblings or time can appear naturally in conversation, but social appropriateness varies. Grammar being possible does not mean every question is appropriate with every person.

9. Common beginner mistake

Do not think of có only as “own”. It is broader. Learn the complete phrase and the situation.

Try it

1. Say one thing you have.
2. Say one thing you do not have.
3. Ask someone whether they have time.
4. Compare Ở đây có wifi and Tôi có wifi.

Quick recap

Person + có + thing expresses possession or availability. Không có makes it negative. The same word có also appears in existence and question patterns.