when can I say "I've"

A very common mistake non native speakers make is using a contraction as a full clause. I have been helping a friend learn English (which is her 5th language) for years, and it’s always jarring when she does this. “Have you seen the CN Tower yet?” “Yes, I’ve”. That is a sure sign of a learner. Edit - adding the fact that I hear this particular construction a lot from people who are fluent in Asian English dialects. Generally I mean people who learned English in places like Singapore or India.

This is accurate for General American but not necessary for all varieties, some of which sometimes allow the main verb "have" to be contracted.

As it says there, it's usually only used when have is modifying another verb. "I've got it" = ok "I've it" = not ok That said, it is somewhat more common in British English to use "I've" when have is the only verb, but even then still usually as part of a longer clause.

It’s true. I think using it when “have” is not an auxiliary verb is somewhat rare and nonstandard, but I’ve seen people use it as such to denote a sort of purposeful non-fluency

Growing up in the Midwest, we say "I've" a ton. I have got to work today. -> I've got to work today. I have no idea. -> I've no idea. You will notice many different regions of the US change how they pronounce and even form sentences. If you were to completely replace "I have" with "I've" I wouldn't notice or question it and I would guess you are also from one of the Midwestern states but other regions would know you aren't from around there.

English English, all colloquial: "I've no idea why she did that": common "Sorry mate, I've no cash on me": common "I've a twenty note if you want to use that": less common but still said   ^("I've no cash on me" = "I'm not carrying any physical money") ^("a twenty note" = "a £20 banknote")

You can, but it doesn’t sound very natural at least in U.S. English. When *have* is the main verb in the sentence, we usually say the full “I have” rather than “I’ve” alone.

In American English, you’re correct. In British English “I’ve no idea” is fine, but you still can’t say “I’ve” when there is no object.

Here are some examples that I think work well : (I'm not native so I might make mistakes) I've been, I've done, I've never seen this, I've got a dog (and not I've a dog, that sounds weird)... When writing these examples it feels like "I've" needs to be followed by a verb, even in "I've never seen" there is "never" but a verb comes right after

i should point out that you might see ‘i’ve’ when ‘have’ is the main verb in more formal texts. i mostly only see it in sort of ‘royal’ speech, especially parody/fiction royal. also, i think it’s more acceptable if it’s in the negative form — using ‘i’ve not’ as a replacement for ‘i don’t have’. like saying ‘i’ve not a clue’ (i don’t have a clue). ‘i’ve not the foggiest idea.’ tl;dr: don’t use it. it’s unnatural and only works in *very* specific contexts. edit: also, this is related to [this concept](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZyZFa5qO0).

>so I can only say "I have no idea" instead of "I've no idea"? Normally you'd be correct. But in this specific case - "I've no idea" can be used in colloquial situations. But I'd never write this in a formal context.

I personally am partial to double contractions such as “Oh really? I’d’ve assumed that…” “If I was in his position I’d’ve…” “They’d’ve been found guilty if it wasn’t for…” “And I’d’ve gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for you meddling kids”

In US English, it's generally used as the auxiliary verb for present perfect tenses, as in "I've been here before". It's*not* generally used for the first person present tense of to have, as in "I've two dogs", although this is sometimes done in UK English.

"i've (never) done that." "i've had that before." "i've (not) been there before." are the most common uses I could come up with off the top of my head.

It depends on where you are from. In those examples, ‘I have no idea’ would sound the most formal of the two, but, where I’m from (North Wales), ‘I’ve no idea’ is very much accepted. Similarly, saying ‘I’ve two children’ also sounds fine to most British people. As long as you’re not ending a sentence with a contraction, you can get away with using I’ve in lots of cases and actually sound like a local. Though, it wouldn’t be as appropriate in formal speech or writing.

Note that the explanation in the OP image says "usually", so it's not incorrect

Which dictionary is this?

I know it's saying "I've just got here" is correct, but it sounds weird to me. I'd say "I just got here" and drop the have entirely

Only certain contractions can stand on their own if it’s the verb “to have” or “to be” it can’t unless it’s negative because stress pattern. “No it isn’t” is correct but “that’s what it’s” isn’t and also “it’s what that’s” isn’t either. N’t can be stressed whilst “’ve” “’s” “’d” and “’ll” can’t be. The way stress works in English is alternating. For instance stress is indicated by this “-“ and unstressed is indicated like this “.” ex: -.-.-.-.-.- This should show you that an unstressed syllable cannot end a sentence. Unstressed syllables can sometimes start sentences but that’s context dependent and is something you’re just gonna have to figure out.

Use contraction when you're using perfect tense,otherwise use it as it is.for example 1. I've been living here for 5 years 2. I have your keys.

It’s also mainly used when “have” is more of action. When it’s a possessive “have”, it can sound weird.

“I’ve” can always be replaced by “I have.” “I have” cannot always be replaced by “I’ve.”

You can’t use “it’s” or any of the positive “will” contraction as the only or final verb in a sentence - I think that’s the only universal. In British English you can say “I’ve two children” and “I’ve no idea”, but you can’t in most American dialects. Negative contractions like won’t/isn’t/haven’t/can’t can generally be used as the only or final verb - eg “No I haven’t”.

Nah, I've two children is fine.

It’s not always common to save I’ve instead of I have when referring to possessions or offspring. English people tend not to do this, the Scots do, though maybe not universally

if it is a second verb, you could use I've but if it is the main verb you can not I've a car (wrong) I've got a car (correct)

1st, if you're ever unsure, it's generally not wrong to just not contract words at all, any time you could contract it is also grammatically correct to leave as a full word, (then you only have to worry about it's and its) 2nd I think they explained it pretty well in the image, Have is a verb meaning to posses something, like "I have a cup" to tell someone that you possess a cup, but have isn't always the main verb in a sentence in which case it means to experience another verb instead. Like in their example we can use it to indicate getting somewhere "I have just arrived" which means I experienced arriving just a moment ago, or "I have run a marathon" which means I experienced running a marathon. In such a situation where you use the second definition you can contract it. You can also slightly rewrite a sentence and remove have when it's being used for it's secondary "I just arrived" or "I ran a marathon" The short of it is if you are using it to say that you possess something you should use "I have" and if you're using it to indicate that you did something you can contract it to I've or sometimes remove it entirely.

There are limitations to when you can use contractions (you can't end a sentence with "I've", for instance), but you can certainly use "I've" when "have" is the main verb. Sentences like "I've not a clue how to handle this" and "I've a few items I'd like to sell" are perfectly valid, if not a bit flavourful... but personally, that's exactly why I like to use them!

If you’re wondering about the nuances of why in some cases you don’t really say “I’ve”… here’s a really good explanation by Tom Scott https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkZyZFa5qO0

never end a sentence with it. it's always at the beginning or in the middle. "I've seen it." Correct. "Yes Mom, I've." Wrong.

oh yeah, when it's in the sense of 'have (done verb)', not in the sense of 'i have (noun)'. Never thought about it before really. You'd say like "I've eaten" but not "i've a sheet of paper". There's other rules too I think (i dont know what they are actually, it's just intuitive to me)...It's actually one of those grammar rules some people like to joke about. In weird ways like "this is where I'm". It just sounds so goofy. However, I feel like your example of saying "i've no idea" is acceptable without sounding wrong. Sounds british and a little lazy I guess. Not how I'd do it but it makes plenty of sense.

I think this is a good rule of thumb (feel free to modify if I missed something): "I have [verb]" can become "I've [verb]" Eg: "I've been", "I've found", "I've got", "I've done" "I have [noun]" or "I have." (as a complete phrase such as answering a question "have you...") do not work contracted. So if there's another verb coming after "have", which is the main action of the sentence, then you can contract to "I've".

Me, an oblivious native speaker: You can use it when it doesn't sound weird. What, there's an actual rule?

Generally speaking, in "proper" English, "I've" is only used when the "have" is considered to be part of another verb. For example, "I have seen that movie" can be contracted to "I've seen that movie" because "have seen" is considered the verb in that sentence. A notable exception to this is that the entire verb does have to be included here, so you can't do this if the main verb is not included. For example, person 1 asks "Did you see this movie, person 2?" Then person 2 cannot answer with "I've" - they must instead answer with "I have" because their sentence doesn't include "seen." But it would not be used when "have" itself is the verb. For example, "I have four cats" cannot be contracted to "I've four cats." There are exceptions to this rule in some casual speaking contexts/cultures though

I just want to say when Native English people say I have it might sound like “I’ve “ it’s actually us saying “I ave” with out the H sound. Or the H is not as pronounced as when we’re being emphatic. Have you been here a while? Yea, I have.

Teacher talking to student… Question: What have you accomplished today? Answer: What >I've accomplished today is [a bit of my homework].

You can say it. Doesn't mean it's grammatically correct. Like using "yall" or "imma about"

Yes, you can use it in \*almost any\* place that "I have" occupies in a sentence. It goes the same for the other contractions: They've = They Have I'll = I will He'll = He will She'll = She will They'll = They will You'll = You will Won't = Will not It's = It is (not the same as Its') Isn't = Is not Haven't = Have not Can't = Cannot They're = They are (not the same as Their or There)