Meaning of 'I have (got) a lot of time for him'

[Tamara]

Hi

I know the meaning of the (fixed) expression I have time for smth./smb.

My question is very simple and perhaps very stupid:

does I’ve got a lot of time for him means exactly the same as I have a lot of time for him
and can be used exactly in the same contexts?

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It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Yankee]

Hi Tamara

I'd say you can use have instead of have got in any context but not vice versa.
.
The verb have has more meanings than have got and, in addition, I think it would be best to avoid using have got in a formal context.

In informal, spoken American English, people often drop the 've in "I've got" and what you end up hearing is something like "I got three brothers and one sister." or "I got a headache." In both cases, the meaning is "I have..." (present tense).

Amy

[Tamara]

Thanks, Amy. Fairly clear rule!

Tamara

P.S. Now I don't only know, what would happen with the idiom if I changed Presents Simple to the Past Simple - 'I had a lot of time for...'. But I suppose, nothing awful?...
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…

[Pamela]

[Yankee]

Hi Pamela and Tamara

No need to fret... "I had a lot of time for..." would be understood as the past tense.

Amy

[Yankee]