Discussion of 有

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Both 是 and 有 can be used to express existence. What is the difference?
Generally speaking, 有 is more widely used than 是 when expressing existence. We can only replace 有 with 是 only in some sentences (E.g. 1). In E.g. 2, we cannot use 是.
E.g. 1 大楼前面是／有一个广场。 [phr] In front of the building there is a square.
E.g. 2 大楼前面有一棵树。 [phr] In front of the building there is a tree.
“Square” is a large item which fills the space “in front of the building”. In this case we can use 是. But in E.g. 2, “a tree” is a small object which only occupies a small portion of the space “in front of the building”, so we cannot use 是.

lisaC

有 has many functions:
1. Expressing possession
E.g. 1 我有三本书。 [phr] I have three books.
2. Expressing existence
E.g. 2 前边有一家商店。 [phr] In the front there is a shop.
3. Listing things
E.g. 3 我的同学里有中国人、日本人、韩国人、美国人。 [phr] Among my classmates, there are Chinese, Japanese, Korean and American.
4. Expressing inclusion
E.g. 4 七月有三十一天。 [phr] There are thirty-one days in July.
5. Reaching a certain quantity
E.g. 5 这口井有五十多米深。 [phr] The well is about fifty-metre deep.
6. Making a general reference
E.g. 6 有人敲门。 [phr] Someone is knocking at the door.
7. Comparison
E.g. 7 我没有门口那个人那么高。 [phr] I am not as tall as that person at the door.

lisaC

像 and 有 can both be used in a sentence expressing comparison. What are their differences? “A像B” means that there is a resemblance between A and B. “A像B这么C” means that the resemblance between A and B resides in a certain aspect C.
“A有B这么C” means that A has reached the degree of B in aspect C.

lisaC

We can use 有 to express comparison. Let’s look at the sentence below:
Example 1a. 这棵树有那座楼高。 (phr) This tree is as tall as that building.
Grammatically speaking, the phrase led by 有 (有那座楼 in Example 1a) acts as an adverbial adjunct and modifies the predicate adjective (高) or a certain verb. In this 有-phrase, 有 is followed by the object of comparison, which is 那座楼.
The words or phrases before and after 有 belong to the same type, or, in other words, have to comparable. In Example 1a, the height of 这棵树 and 那座楼 is comparable.

这么 or 那么 often occurs after the 有-phrase and before the predicate to denote degree. Example 1b. 这棵树有那座楼那么高。

The negative form of Example 1a is 1c. We simply use 没有 instead of 有.
Example 1c. 这棵树没有那座楼（这么／那么）高。 (phr) This tree is NOT so tall as that building.

In summary, “有…” used to express comparison has the meaning of “reaching a certain amount or level”. Therefore no words of concrete number and measurement can follow the predicate.

lisaC

What other words mean the same thing as 有 (yǒu)?

个学生

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In what situations is it appropriate to use the word 有 (yǒu)?

个学生

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1. It is appropriate to use the word 有 (yǒu) when expressing possession, such as "我有一只猫 (wǒ yǒu yī zhī māo) - I have a cat".

2. It is appropriate to use the word 有 (yǒu) when expressing existence, such as "这里有一家商店 (zhèlǐ yǒu yī jiā shāngdiàn) - There is a store here".

3. It is appropriate to use the word 有 (yǒu) when expressing an estimate or comparison, such as "他有一米八 (tā yǒu yī mǐ bā) - He is about 1.8 meters tall"

当老师

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