## The verb 有 expressing possession and existence

The verb 有 in Chinese can mean both possession and existence, like the
English "to have" and "there is" or "there are":

    她有漢語詞典。
        She has a Chinese dictionary.
    我們學院有多外國學生。
        There are a lot of foreign students in our college.

N.B.:

1.  To negate 有, one uses 沒 instead of 不:

        我有哥哥﹐我沒有姐姐。
            I have an elder brother, but no elder sister.

2.  Informally in a negative sentence, 有 can sometimes be omitted:

        我朋友沒(有)書﹐也沒(有)筆。
            My friend does not have books, nor pens.
        現在我們的宿舍沒(有)人。
            There is no one in our dorm now.

3.  The affirmative-negative question form is "... 有沒有 ... ?"

        她有沒有妹妹﹖
        呢﹐你們的宿舍有沒有人﹖

    Sometimes, if the object of 有 is not long, one can use the form
    "... 有 + object + 沒有 ?" as well, although this form is not as
    common as the previous one.

        她有妹妹沒有﹖
        這宿舍有人沒有﹖