Have got

[Soleil]

Hello! Could you you please tell me if it souds natural to say: "The children've got balls." or it's better to say "The children have got balls"?
Do we use likely the contractions when we use personal pronouns?
Thank you for your answers!

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello!

Could you you please tell me if it sounds natural to say no colon here "The children've got balls no full stop here" or if it's better to say "The children have got balls"?
Do we use likely the contractions when we use personal pronouns?

Thank you for your answers! Unnecessary. Thank us after we help you, by adding the "Thanks" icon to any helpful post.

Are you referring to spoken or written English? In spoken English, "children've" got balls" is perfectly natural and common. In written English, unless you're directly quoting someone's words, it's unnatural.

I'm curious about what your sentence means, though. Are you aware that saying that someone "has balls" can mean that they are brave/courageous or they have a lot of nerve? That is what I took your sentence to mean when I first read it and I found it strange that you would apply the phrase to children. Afterwards, I realised that you might mean "They children all have a football (or similar)".

 

[Tarheel]

The whole idea of a contraction is it's supposed to be easier to say and shorter than the original. I would have to make a special effort to say "children've" (which I have never heard of before and which my phone tags as a misspelling).

 

[jutfrank]

I would have to make a special effort to say "children've"

I'd bet my house that you do say that in fast, fluent speech, just like almost every other native speaker in the world. In fact, it's very difficult not to say that. The contraction is meant to show that we don't pronounce the /h/ of the weak form have.

 

[Soleil]

Are you referring to spoken or written English? In spoken English, "children've" got balls" is perfectly natural and common. In written English, unless you're directly quoting someone's words, it's unnatural.

I'm curious about what your sentence means, though. Are you aware that saying that someone "has balls" can mean that they are brave/courageous or they have a lot of nerve? That is what I took your sentence to mean when I first read it and I found it strange that you would apply the phrase to children. Afterwards, I realised that you might mean "They children all have a football (or similar)".

Yes, I am referring to spoken English.

I was practicing English with my son who was drilling the construction “have got” describing the picture in which children are playing with balls. As it mentioned in the comment bellow, I found it was rather difficult to pronounce that’s why I decided to ask this question.

Thank you for your full answer. I have learned a new expression!