# The grammar of "got" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2022, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240 "2022-01-22T18:43:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/21 "2022-01-22T22:54:45Z")
**lobtomomyboy63** ’s examples are pretty much the discussion I had with my Québecoise roommate. “How can one word mean so much, enfin?!?” she asked. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/22 "2022-01-22T23:04:21Z")
A lot of the examples here just seem to be using “got” as the past tense of “get.” But the OP isn’t asking about that. They asked about using “got” in place of “have.” I would argue that most of these cases are just situations where “have” or “has” have been dropped in colloquial speech. And that it is “have got” that has acquired a meaning that is equivalent to “have” or “possess.” ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/23 "2022-01-22T23:38:39Z")
Baby got back… I use the construction sometimes. I’m not saying it’s wrong. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/24 "2022-01-22T23:57:13Z")
When I was at school, a very long time ago, I was taught that “got” was best avoided wherever possible. Certainly never to be used instead of “have”. The great Gershwin got away with it but not us ordinary mortals _I got rhythm_ _I got music_ _I got my man_ _Who could ask for anything more?_ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/25 "2022-01-23T07:20:07Z")
My dialect includes a lot of ellipses and elisions, so the statement “I got a car” is typically interpreted as an elision of "I’ve got a car, with the contraction either absent or so subtle that you just miss it but know it is there. It is kind of related to the way “would’ve”, _et al_, morphed into “woulda” and then ultimately began to appear as a distorted mix of the two written out as the cringeworthy “would of”. From what I can tell, our flavor of English has become a strange sort of tonal language, where, if you cannot suss out the individual words in an utterance, you can often just follow the melody to capture the sense and meaning of what was said. Context helps a lot, of course. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/26 "2022-01-23T07:41:56Z")
Gotten is archaic. Surviving in compound forms like misbegotten and forgotten primarily ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/27 "2022-01-23T10:51:36Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Infinitive? Can you give an example? In the narrow sense, an example would be “What do you got?”. In a wider sense, all usage of “got” in a present tense meaning, rather than as a past tense form of another verb, such as “I got a brother” (yes, I know, such usage is not an infinitive in the grammatical sense, but it was this present versus past usage that I had in mind when I wrote my post). ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/28 "2022-01-23T10:57:36Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > A lot of the examples here just seem to be using “got” as the past tense of “get.” But the OP isn’t asking about that. They asked about using “got” in place of “have.” Yes, indeed, that’s what I mean: Instances where “got” is not used in its original meaning as a past tense form of “get”, but in a present tense meaning. Taking this question further: If “got” (or “have got”) is, grammatically, a past tense form but with a present tense meaning (synonymous with “to have” in the present tense), does that mean that it has to, or can, be used grammatically in a pluperfect form if I want to use in a past tense meaning? Examples: - “I got blue eyes” - It seems this is widely used with a present tense meaning synonymous with “I have [now, in the present] blue eyes.” - “My late grandfather had got blue eyes” - Would that be idiomatic, with the pluperfect form of “get” in a simple past meaning, synonymous with “My late grandfather had [when he was alive] blue eyes”? I would suppose it’s not used that way. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/29 "2022-01-23T11:25:15Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > In the narrow sense, an example would be “What do you got?”. That sounds totally wrong and unnatural to me. Formal English would be ‘What have you got?’ and slangy, informal English would be ‘What you got?’ or ‘Whatcha got?’ > [@Schnitte](#): > > “I got a brother” Should be “I’ve got a brother”. Perhaps it could appear in that form in a rap song or some dialect, but in normal conversation it would sound wrong to me. > [@Schnitte](#): > > “I got blue eyes” Again, “I’ve got blue eyes.” > [@Schnitte](#): > > “My late grandfather had got blue eyes” Sounds unnatural to me. It should be “My late grandfather had blue eyes”. ---
**Author:** ![nofloyd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nofloyd/32/2870_2.png) [@nofloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nofloyd)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/30 "2022-01-23T12:00:25Z")
Not in my region of New Jersey. Gotten shows up with have, mostly in speech. I’ll even write informally with it. Thinking as I write: Did you get a car yet? = Have you gotten a car yet? Have you got a car yet? Eh, doesn’t sound quite right to me. But I wouldn’t blink at it either. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/31 "2022-01-23T12:12:29Z")
Got, gotten is like many so-called American words, in that gotten was the original English that pretty much died out here but has lingered on in parts of North America. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/32 "2022-01-23T14:43:22Z")
Clarence “Frogman” Henry (gotta love someone nicknamed Frogman) [sang a blues tune:](https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/9760978/Ain%27t+Got+No+Home+%5BCasino%5D) Ain’t got no home A-no place to roam Ain’t got no home A-no place to roam I’m a lonely boy I ain’t got a home But I especially like the chorus/bridge/whatever that goes something like this: Ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo Ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo Ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo Ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo Ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo Ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo-ooo ooo ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/33 "2022-01-23T23:38:11Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > That sounds totally wrong and unnatural to me. Formal English would be ‘What have you got?’ and slangy, informal English would be ‘What you got?’ or ‘Whatcha got?’ It’s common enough in my dialect, though it would come out as “Whaddaya got?” Bon Jovi has a song titled “What do you got?” (Ugh, when did he turn into a country singer? My childhood is ruined.) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2022, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/34 "2022-01-23T23:54:11Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Got, gotten is like many so-called American words, in that gotten was the original English that pretty much died out here but has lingered on in parts of North America. But the Beatles sure got a lotta gots. “I got a Feeling”, “Got to Get You into my Life”, “Got to Hide your love Away”, “All I’ve Got to Do”…I’d keep typing but _I got blisters on my fingers!_ ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/35 "2022-01-24T01:20:23Z")
I believe the Brits somehow managed to turn “get” into a noun, though it is usually pronounced in a way that sounds more like “git”. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/36 "2022-01-24T01:22:20Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > it is usually pronounced in a way that sounds more like “git”. A git is somewhere between a twit and a twat, but nothing to do with get. I can’t think of any colloquial use of get as a noun. > **[Git (slang)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git_(slang))** > > Git /ɡɪt/ is a term of insult denoting an unpleasant, silly, incompetent, annoying, senile, elderly or childish person. The creation of this term is credited to elifjorn. Though others have tried to claim this term, none of their movements have gained much support. > As a mild oath it is roughly on a par with prat and marginally less pejorative than berk. Typically a good-natured admonition with a strong implication of familiarity, git is more severe than twit or idiot but less severe than wa T... ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/37 "2022-01-24T09:56:20Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > [@bob\_2](#): > > > > Got, gotten is like many so-called American words, in that gotten was the original English that pretty much died out here but has lingered on in parts of North America. > > But the Beatles sure got a lotta gots. “I got a Feeling”, “Got to Get You into my Life”, “Got to Hide your love Away”, “All I’ve Got to Do”…I’d keep typing but _I got blisters on my fingers!_ Was I that unclear? “ **Got** ” is commonly used in English English, but “ **gotten** ” is not. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/38 "2022-01-24T16:06:30Z")
The word “got” makes me uncomfortable if I use it. I always try to use a better word. My 6th-grade teacher always called us out when we would use that word. She’d say, “You’ve got the Got Disease”. It’s stuck with me for 49 years. ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/39 "2022-01-24T16:26:23Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I can’t think of any colloquial use of get as a noun. Can’t ye, ye misbegotten get of a sea-dog? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2022, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240/40 "2022-01-24T16:30:48Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > I can’t think of any colloquial use of get as a noun. I can’t find a cite online, but I swear I’ve seen the noun “get” used more than once in fiction to describe those who have been turned by and swear allegiance to a vampire. Like if Dracula bites you and turns you into a vampire, you are his get. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-grammar-of-got/958240.md?page=3)