Affirming an Event with 有 (ū)

01

有 as 'Have' and 'There Is'

One verb covers both. With a possessor in front it is have; with a place, or with nothing at all, it is there is.

• 我有一个問題。

  guá ū tsi̍t ê būn-têgóa ū chi̍t ê būn-têgua2 u7 tsit8 e5 bun7-te5

  I have a question.

• 我有一个大家庭。

  guá ū tsi̍t ê tuā ka-tînggóa ū chi̍t ê tōa ka-tênggua2 u7 tsit8 e5 tua7 ka1-ting5

  I have a big family.

• 我有一寡想法。

  guá ū tsi̍t-kuá siūnn-huatgóa ū chi̍t-kóa siūⁿ-hoatgua2 u7 tsit8-kua2 siunn7-huat4

  I have some ideas.

• 遮有蘋果、弓蕉佮柳丁。

  tsia ū phōng-kó king-tsio kah liú-tingchia ū phōng-kó keng-chio kah liú-tengtsia1 u7 phong7-ko2 king1-tsio1 kah4 liu2-ting1

  Here there are apples, bananas and oranges.

• 有真濟頭路通做。

  ū tsin tsē thâu-lōo thang tsòū chin chē thâu-lō͘ thang chòu7 tsin1 tse7 thau5-loo7 thang1 tso3

  There are lots of jobs available.

It also states that someone or something is present somewhere, which is where it meets the preposition 佇 (tītīti7) at.

• 恁爸母有佇厝無？

  lín pē-bú ū tī-tsù --bôlín pē-bú ū tī-chù --bôlin2 pe7-bu2 u7 ti7-tsu3 --bo5

  Are your parents at home?

02

Enough, and How Much

有 (ūūu7) introduces amounts and measurements too — asking or stating whether there is enough of something, or how big it is.

• 我有夠額的錢通買車。

  guá ū kàu-gia̍h ê tsînn thang bé tshiagóa ū kàu-gia̍h ê chîⁿ thang bé chhiagua2 u7 kau3-giah8 e5 tsinn5 thang1 be2 tshia1

  I have enough money to buy a car.

• 敢有啥物問題？

  kám ū siánn-mih būn-têkám ū siáⁿ-mih būn-têkam2 u7 siann2-mih4 bun7-te5

  Are there any questions?

03

有 Before a Verb

Here 有 (ūūu7) is not about possession — it confirms the event. English has no single word for this and falls back on stress: I DID see it. It is especially common in questions and their answers.

• 你敢有看著？

  lí kám ū khuànn --tio̍hlí kám ū khoàⁿ --tio̍hli2 kam2 u7 khuann3 --tioh8

  Did you see it?

• 你敢有破病？

  lí kám ū phuà-pēnnlí kám ū phòa-pēⁿli2 kam2 u7 phua3-penn7

  Are you sick?

• 你敢有閒？

  lí kám ū înglí kám ū êngli2 kam2 u7 ing5

  Do you have time?

04

The 有 / 無 Pair

Because there is no word for yes or no, 有 (ūūu7) and its negative 無 (bôbôbo5) carry that job between them. A question built on 有 (ūūu7) is answered with 有 (ūūu7) or 無 (bôbôbo5), and this pair is the single most useful thing to have ready in conversation.

05

Not a Tense

有 (ūūu7) is often translated with an English perfect, but it is not one. It asserts that the event is a fact, whenever it happened — the time itself comes from elsewhere in the sentence.