By Laurie James
Continuing in the same spirit as my last ‘Levelling Up’ piece, we will now explore a similarly ubiquitous and useful verb, which is rich in synonyms and alternatives that we can use to add flavour and tone to our English.
Before we continue, we must understand that the verb ‘To have’ is really two different verbs. This article is only interested in the normal verb which expresses possession; the ‘Have’ that we see in ‘I have seen him’ is auxiliary with no possessive sentiment, and should be considered a separate word entirely.
As we established last time, the idea of true synonyms is a debatable topic. In the vast majority of cases, if not all, a word which shares the same meaning as another word will differ in some way tonally.
With the exception of ‘To have got’, which we will not be covering here, synonyms of ‘To have’ almost invariably add formality, making them ideal for academic texts and official communications.
Two such words are ‘Own’ and ‘Possess’. They are virtually interchangeable in sentiment and application, referring generally to a more legal sense of ‘Having’ something.
“I was renting for years, but now I own my flat.”
In this case, the context is not legal, but the distinction is. Alternatively, such formal words may be employed to delicious poetic effect:
«Oh, bird of my soul, fly away now, For I possess a hundred fortified towers»
-Rumi
While words like ‘Carry’ and ‘Bear’ have, over time, developed more specific meanings, they serve just as well as ‘Have’ in certain situations (to have a disease in the former case, to have a grudge in the latter, or to have a burden in both), as well as in the general poetic voice:
“Disease-Carrying thoughts swarm and multiply in the dark and twisted labyrinths of our minds”
-Romain Gary
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”
-Abraham Lincoln
A final option, which most people know more commonly in the adjective form ‘Abundant’, is the verb ‘Abound’. Used intransitively, it simply expresses that the subject exists in large quantities, but with the aid of a preposition, it can refer to possessing large quantities of something:
“The River Dewi is said to abound in trout, but is much poached.”
-Dylan Thomas, Under Milk Wood
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