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Joanne Marinelli - 03 Nov 2006 23:29 GMT

I saw a recent Burger King commercial about their Italian chicken sandwich,
with the tagline being "You got a problem with that?"

It caused me to wonder if the battle over using the inflected form as
present tense is pretty well lost in American English?

I suppose I am going to sound like Liebs, or perhaps just echo his
discomfort, but I have never particularly embraced dropping the helping verb
with *get* in its inflected forms.

Joanne

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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DisabilityinArts/

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Dan S. in South Bend - 04 Nov 2006 00:01 GMT

>I saw a recent Burger King commercial about their Italian chicken sandwich,
>with the tagline being "You got a problem with that?"
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> Joanne

Does one need an English class to obtain a marketing degree and work for
Burger King?

Properly its "do you have." It's very street oriented ... dumbed down for
the teen-aged - possibly in a drug-induced state of hunger - crowd.

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Robert Lieblich - 04 Nov 2006 01:28 GMT

> >I saw a recent Burger King commercial about their Italian chicken sandwich,
> >with the tagline being "You got a problem with that?"
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> > discomfort, but I have never particularly embraced dropping the helping
> > verb with *get* in its inflected forms.

Hey, it's an advertising slogan. No reason not to use informal, even
casual, English. No discomfort on my part. Ya got a problem with
that?

> Does one need an English class to obtain a marketing degree and work for
> Burger King?

I suspect the author of the slogan works not for Burger King but for
an advertising agency. I'd also wager that the best twisters of the
English language are those who know the norms -- it's easiest to
deviate if you know what you're deviating from. Surely you don't
think the genius[1] who came up with "Winston tastes good like a
cigarette should" didn't know that "like" should be "as" in formal
speech.

> Properly its "do you have." It's very street oriented ... dumbed down for
> the teen-aged - possibly in a drug-induced state of hunger - crowd.

I think you're exaggerating. It's just a way of getting attention.
It got mine.

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The Liebs
Pontificating at the same old stand

[1] No sarcasm intended. Anyone who can coin an advertising slogan
that survives half a century is a genius.

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ChrisR - 04 Nov 2006 12:44 GMT

>> >I saw a recent Burger King commercial about their Italian chicken
>> >sandwich,
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> I think you're exaggerating. It's just a way of getting attention.
> It got mine.

The one that really irritates me (BrE) is the "X just got better" form that
has appeared in UK advertising recently. If it got better, it happened over
a period or in the distant past; if it was "Just", ie suddenly and recently,
it should be "has just got better".

Chris R

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Robert Lieblich - 04 Nov 2006 15:42 GMT

[ ... ]

> The one that really irritates me (BrE) is the "X just got better" form that
> has appeared in UK advertising recently. If it got better, it happened over
> a period or in the distant past; if it was "Just", ie suddenly and recently,
> it should be "has just got better".

I can't speak for BrE, but to my American ear there's nothing wrong
with "X just got better." If it's slightly off-key in BrE, that's
probably for the usual advertiser's reason -- to make it more
memorable.

Advertisers are sneaky.

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Bob Lieblich
Sneaky but not an advertiser

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the Omrud - 04 Nov 2006 15:46 GMT

Robert Lieblich <r_s_lieblich@yahoo.com> had it:

> [ ... ]
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Advertisers are sneaky.

Actually, it sounds OK to me as well.

I just got a letter.

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David
=====

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ChrisR - 05 Nov 2006 12:52 GMT

> Robert Lieblich <r_s_lieblich@yahoo.com> had it:
>
[quoted text clipped - 18 lines]
>
> I just got a letter.

I would always say "I've just got a letter". I think the reason it jars is
that "just" contradicts the temporal implication of the perfect tense, if
I've got my terminology right.

Chris R

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Mark Wallace - 07 Nov 2006 17:21 GMT

> Advertisers are sneaky.

Thus spake a lawyer.

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Tony Cooper - 07 Nov 2006 21:21 GMT

>> Advertisers are sneaky.
>
>Thus spake a lawyer.

Yes, but advertisers are often sneaky in trying to get you to notice
something. Lawyers are sneaky in trying to get you not to notice
something.

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Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

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Robert Lieblich - 07 Nov 2006 23:22 GMT

> > Advertisers are sneaky.
>
> Thus spake a lawyer.

"speaketh"

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Mark Wallace - 08 Nov 2006 17:53 GMT

>>> Advertisers are sneaky.
>> Thus spake a lawyer.
>
> "speaketh"

"Writ", actually, but I'm sure you'll find a way to get around that law.

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georgeh@ankerstein.org - 04 Nov 2006 01:08 GMT

> I saw a recent Burger King commercial about their Italian chicken sandwich,
> with the tagline being "You got a problem with that?"
>
> It caused me to wonder if the battle over using the inflected form as
> present tense is pretty well lost in American English?

No, but that expression -- "You got a problem with that?" -- has
achieved almost cult status. Think Mafia. And the Mafoisa I know
do not use it; the lower levels do.

GFH

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The Grammer Genious - 04 Nov 2006 03:24 GMT

"Joanne Marinelli" <Jozanny@yahoo.com> quoted

> <...>
> "You got a problem with that?"
> <...>
> I have never particularly embraced dropping the helping verb with *get* in
> its inflected forms.

It's commonly dropped in all forms except the 3d singular. "I got a dog,"
and "they got a dog" too. Nevertheless, people commonly say "He's got a
dog," not "He got a dog," unless they mean he acquired one.

By the way, I voted today, but I found out that if you vote ahead of time,
you don't get a little "I voted" sticker to put on your shirt and wear to
work. I have valued that little custom ever since I stopped going to get
ashes on my forehead on Ash Wednesday. The "I voted" sticker is just as
pious as the ashes, and more sanitary. You got a problem with that?

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Hatunen - 04 Nov 2006 03:40 GMT

>I saw a recent Burger King commercial about their Italian chicken sandwich,
>with the tagline being "You got a problem with that?"
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>discomfort, but I have never particularly embraced dropping the helping verb
>with *get* in its inflected forms.

It's idiomatic.

************* DAVE HATUNEN (hatunen@cox.net) *************
* Tucson Arizona, out where the cacti grow *
* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006

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