I didn't mean to get sucked in, I only really went to go say 'meh whatever, doesn't bother me'. But then I saw all these people saying 'gotten' was some old fashioned word Brits just don't use and I got confused because dammit I do! My Dad does, my Mum does and we're all so bloody ridiculously English it's not funny.
I think maybe British English is more complicated than it looks.
(Also this is a wee bit of an obsessive thing because people I work with now sometimes tell me I talk a bit odd.)
Gotten isn't a word at all. Except it has become a word. And thus it is a word. Technically it should just be "got", but because we tend to say 'gotten' when speaking, it is becoming accepted when writing. At least this is what I've learnt, when I got told at school that "gotten" is not a word...
Now let’s get to the question of tense. “Get” and “gets” are the present-tense forms of “to get,” as in “She gets mad at herself when she’s late.” The past tense is “got,” as in “She got mad.”
Now comes the tricky part: we have two choices when it comes to the past participle. A past participle is a word like “broken” in this sentence: “She has broken her wrist twice.” If you speak American English, you will use “gotten” as the past participle, as in “He has gotten the same gift three years in a row.” Users of British English, on the other hand, will say “got” (5): “He has got the same gift three years in a row.”
So possibly more a case of good old magpie British English at work again.
The point being made to me was that as a British English speaking person I simply wouldn't ever say it, let alone write it down. Bollocks. This language ain't that simple.
Just don't start using "drug" as a past tense of "drag" and it's all good.*
*Yes, I run into this at least once a month. Drives me nuts. And yes, it's always an American, and while I assumed it was regional, it appears to be spreading.
Comments 13
Reply
Reply
ETA: I SHOULD HAVE USED "GOTTEN"! "how many comments it had gotten..."
Reply
But then I saw all these people saying 'gotten' was some old fashioned word Brits just don't use and I got confused because dammit I do! My Dad does, my Mum does and we're all so bloody ridiculously English it's not funny.
I think maybe British English is more complicated than it looks.
(Also this is a wee bit of an obsessive thing because people I work with now sometimes tell me I talk a bit odd.)
::headdesk::
Reply
It does, however, appear to be an Americanism:
http://www.reference.com/motif/reference/is-gotten-grammatically-correct
Reply
Now let’s get to the question of tense. “Get” and “gets” are the present-tense forms of “to get,” as in “She gets mad at herself when she’s late.” The past tense is “got,” as in “She got mad.”
Now comes the tricky part: we have two choices when it comes to the past participle. A past participle is a word like “broken” in this sentence: “She has broken her wrist twice.” If you speak American English, you will use “gotten” as the past participle, as in “He has gotten the same gift three years in a row.” Users of British English, on the other hand, will say “got” (5): “He has got the same gift three years in a row.”
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/is-got-proper-english.aspx
Reply
Reply
The point being made to me was that as a British English speaking person I simply wouldn't ever say it, let alone write it down.
Bollocks. This language ain't that simple.
Reply
Just don't start using "drug" as a past tense of "drag" and it's all good.*
*Yes, I run into this at least once a month. Drives me nuts. And yes, it's always an American, and while I assumed it was regional, it appears to be spreading.
Reply
Drugs are something you take, not something you do.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment