[Vocabulary] I have a sister/ I have got a sister

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englishhobby

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Jun 19, 2009
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Russian
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Russian Federation
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Russian Federation
In British English, which structure is more common to talk about having relatives?
What sounds more natural:
1) I have a sister.
2) I've got a sister.
 

emsr2d2

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Jul 28, 2009
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English Teacher
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British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I would use the second. The first is equally grammatical. It's a matter of personal choice for most people. I was interested to discover, when I tutored a 6-year-old Spanish boy, that his textbooks listed "have got" as the verb for possession, rather than "have". I always taught my adult students that both were possible and acceptable.

The fact that your example was about a relative makes no difference to my opinion. I would be the same if we were talking about a pen or a dog or a hat.
 
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