Uses of "have got/have gotten?"

Larisa   Mon Oct 23, 2006 4:37 pm GMT
Hey all!
What's the difference between "I have got or I've got", "I got" and "I have gotten or I've gotten" in American English, please?

Another question:
For exemple, can we say "Did you ever meet Larisa?" in American English?

Thank you!!!
Adam   Mon Oct 23, 2006 6:12 pm GMT
"I have got" is British English and "I have gotten" is American English.

Or, to put another way, "I got" is correct English grammar and "I have gotten" is American English.
Larisa   Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:27 pm GMT
"Or, to put another way, "I got" is correct English grammar and "I have gotten" is American English" really? Isn't "I got" the informal form to say "I have" in American English?
Rick Johnson   Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:46 pm GMT
"I've got" is correct English "I got" ain't!
Q   Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:26 pm GMT
>> "I have got" is British English and "I have gotten" is American English.

Or, to put another way, "I got" is correct English grammar and "I have gotten" is American English. <<

Nonesense. In American English:

"I got" means "I received"

"I have" means "I possess"

"I've got" means "I possess" (but is considered informal and incorrect in formal or written usage, although still widely used. It means exactly the same as "I have" and has nothing to do with "I've gotten")

"I've gotten" does not mean the same as "I've got", but rather "I have received"
Q   Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:30 pm GMT
Example Sentence:

Over the years I've gotten three microwaves from my aunt for my birthday, but this year I got a refrigerator from my uncle instead. Therefore I have three microwaves and one refrigerator so now I've got a lot of stuff in my house.

I've gotten does not equal "I've got"/"I have".
Q   Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:37 pm GMT
>> "I've got" is correct English "I got" ain't! <<

Not in American English (which is what the OP asked). I've got is considered incorrect, and 90% of the time Americans will say: "I have". (I personally never say "I've got", and it sort of grates on me when other people say it.)

>> Isn't "I got" the informal form to say "I have" in American English? <<

Not at all. They don't mean the same thing at all in *American English*. "I got" means "I received"; "I have" means "I possess", and "I've got" is just an informal way of saying "I have".
Jim   Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:45 pm GMT
"I got" can either be an informal shortening of "I've got" or it could be fragment of a clause in the simple past.

"What did you get for your birthday?"

"I got a bicycle."

That is it ain't wrong.

As for the difference between "I've got" & "I've gotten" in North American English, I believe that Q is correct except that I'd never heard or read that it is considered informal or incorrect.

In Australian English (my dialect) there is no "gotten" both "I have" or "I've got" would be acceptable as meaning "I posses".
Mary   Tue Oct 24, 2006 2:14 am GMT
> Another question:
> For exemple, can we say "Did you ever meet Larisa?" in American English?

Americans would say, "Have you ever met Larisa?" in most circumstances. For example, if you were at a party and the Alex wanted to introduce Larisa to Bob, then Alex would say, "Bob, have you ever met Larisa?" In this sense the meaning is, "Do you know who Larisa is?"

"Did you ever meet Larisa?" would be used only if the meeting had been planned. For example, let's say that Alex knows that Bob set up a blind date with Larisa but on his way to meet her Bob got a flat tire. Now Alex wants to know whether or not Bob ever arrived at the restaurant to meet Larisa. Alex would ask, "So did you ever meet Larisa?" In this sense the meaning is, "Did you eventually succeed at meeting Larisa?"

I hope that makes sense.
Larisa   Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:14 pm GMT
Thanks to Q, to Mary and to Jim for helping!!!

Does "ain't" mean "I'm not, you aren't, she isn't etc..." or can it also mean "I don't have, you don't have, she doesn't have etc..."

Thank you!!!
Larisa   Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:15 pm GMT
Does "ain't" mean "I'm not, you aren't, she isn't etc..." or can it also mean "I don't have, you don't have, she doesn't have etc..." in American English????

Thank you
JW   Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:33 pm GMT
"Ain't" is simply a contraction for "am not." It cannot mean "I do not have." To convey something like that with "ain't" you would have to say something like "I ain't got a..." or "I ain't got no...."

And as I'm sure you already know, "ain't" is for some reason considered ungrammatical in formal contexts.
Aquatar   Tue Oct 24, 2006 5:25 pm GMT
Adam

>>Or, to put another way, "I got" is correct English grammar and "I have gotten" is American English<<

I think you might find that this is a case where the Americans have preserved parts of English that have fallen out of usage in the UK, as opposed to something they have invented themselves, which is what I assume you are implying.
j   Tue Oct 24, 2006 5:29 pm GMT
to Larisa:
In ESL school our teacher always taught us: if you have any words like 'ever, never, since, recently, for (as 'for the last three years') in the sentence - use Perfect Tense, not Past, i.e. 'I've gotten', but not 'I got', you won't be wrong.

So: "Can we say "Did you ever meet Larisa?" in American English? - the answer is no, it would be better 'Have you ever met Larisa?'
Adam   Tue Oct 24, 2006 6:02 pm GMT
" think you might find that this is a case where the Americans have preserved parts of English that have fallen out of usage in the UK,"

You mean Americans are too old-fashioned?