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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2004got what?
Occasionally situations arise where I know the use is incorrect, but I find it difficult to explain why. "Sorry, I can't stay with you because I got another girlfriend." It is clear what correction is required, but any suggestions to help me explain why 'got' doesn't work or shouldn't be used?... Thanks. :)  SignatureWill Gortoa UK Teaching Assistant with no formal English training - other than 40 years using the language. Working with very inquisitive pupil of Chinese origin. Helping to improve English usage understanding/skills. > Occasionally situations arise where I know the use is incorrect, but I > find it difficult to explain why. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > It is clear what correction is required, but any suggestions to help me > explain why 'got' doesn't work or shouldn't be used?... Thanks. :) I wouldn't say that it "doesn't work." The meaning is perfectly clear and it is grammatically correct in some dialects. Some people see this as an elision of "have" in the verb "have got," but it isn't necessary to see it that way. It is much simpler to see it as simply another form of the verb "have," just as "have got" itself is a form of the verb "have." This use of "got," however, is a nonstandard variant form. The following, from *The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language,* 4th ed., at http://www.bartleby.com/61/84/G0108400.html treats this use of "got" from that point of view: [quote] TRANSITIVE VERB: [...] 16[...]b. _Nonstandard_ To have current possession of. Used in the past tense form with the meaning of the present: _They got a nice house in town._ [end quote] So the objection to "got" in this case is similar to the objection to the use of the word "ain't." The only reason to object to it is that it is a nonstandard usage. SignatureRaymond S. Wise Minneapolis, Minnesota USA E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com >> Occasionally situations arise where I know the use is incorrect, but I >> find it difficult to explain why. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >> It is clear what correction is required, but any suggestions to help me >> explain why 'got' doesn't work or shouldn't be used?... Thanks. :) >I wouldn't say that it "doesn't work." The meaning is perfectly clear and it >is grammatically correct in some dialects. Well, as you can probably tell, I wasn't entirely convinced by my own reasoning/understanding. Particularly as it does have common usage here [UK - West Country] by dialect, which is probably where my pupil heard this non-standard form. >http://www.bartleby.com/61/84/G0108400.html > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >[end quote] Interesting. >So the objection to "got" in this case is similar to the objection to the >use of the word "ain't." The only reason to object to it is that it is a >nonstandard usage. It's a problem I run into occasionally. The problem usually being highlighted when I can't easily explain what's wrong! :) SignatureWill Gortoa UK Teaching Assistant with no formal English training - other than 40 years using the language. Working with very inquisitive pupil of Chinese origin. Helping to improve English usage understanding/skills. |
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