The use of "have,""got,""have got," and alternate forms was investigated in the speech of Anglo and black grade-school children from lower and middle income neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Techniques were devised to elicit multiple occurrences of the construction, including questions and negatives. One technique used was a convergent communication technique in which children were seated at opposite ends of a table with an opaque screen placed between them and were asked to describe similar or different pictures from the one which their partner held. The use of "have got" by Anglo children seemed to result from a transformational "got"-insertion rule as indicated by these two sentences: "Joan has big hands. Joan has got big hands." No evidence indicated such a rule in Black English. Acquisition of the "have got" structure does not seem to be complete for all children at the kindergarten and first-grade level. There are forms used by these children which do not occur elsewhere, notably "haves," and a lack among young Anglo children of "have got." Social differences in use associated with number were noted. Children from lower income black schools used person-number agreement much less frequently than did black children in middle income areas. (MKM)