Answer: Got vs. Gotten

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

roadrunner1896 asks When is it correct to use got vs. gotten?

ETA: The following differentiations apply to North American usage of got and gotten. In British usage, gotten is an archaic form that persists in contemporary usage only in compounds: ill-gotten, begotten, misbegotten and forgotten. Gotten comes across as American slang; use got in British fandoms. And now, on with the North American confusion ...

There are some simple black and white rules, and a few gray areas, with the use of got and gotten. Let's take a look, with the help of Mr. Teal'c and the rest of SG-1.

to get

The verb to get primarily means to obtain or receive, or to become.

Teal'c gets three new hats every Christmas.

Its simple past tense, for an isolated incident in the past, is got.

Teal'c got a baseball cap, a knit watchman's cap and a homburg this last year.

And its past participle is gotten. Whenever you see gotten, it will always be accompanied by a form of to have.

The present perfect tense will be used for events in the past that continue up to or still affect the present. The past perfect tense will be used for events in the past that are finished, often for events that took place prior to other events in the past.

Teal'c has gotten hats as presents ever since he joined the SGC.
He had gotten mostly baseball caps, until his spaghetti Western movie kick inspired a new look.
Jack, Daniel and Sam have gotten used to shopping at the mall together for Teal'c's Christmas hats.
They'd gotten wild this year, and bought hats in purple, orange and lime green.

have got

However got is also used colloquially with the verb to have as an alternate form of have, meaning to be in possession of or to be obliged. Sometimes it is used to give a stronger sense of emphasis to have in the sense of obligation. The usage of have got together dates back to Middle English and is listed in most dictionaries without prejudice, although some grammarians, such as Strunk and White's Elements of Style, note that it is redundant and still do not find it acceptable for written communication.

Note that it is always possible to rephrase any use of have got to a noncontroversial have (for the sake of those like me who twitch at the sight of it). This should definitely be done in any formal writing.

Not preferred:
Teal'c's got over twenty hats stashed away in his quarters by now.

Correct:
Teal'c has over twenty hats stashed away in his quarters by now.

Not preferred:
The protocol is clear: Teal'c has got to put on a hat before he goes off-base.

Correct:
The protocol is clear: Teal'c has to put on a hat before he goes off-base.
The protocol is clear: Teal'c must put on a hat before he goes off-base.

got =/= to have

What is definitely incorrect is the common practice of dropping the have helping verb and using only got to mean to have.

Wrong:
The "porn star" hat? Got to go. And Hammond is having a talk with Ferretti.

Not preferred:
The "porn star" hat? Has got to go. And Hammond is having a talk with Ferretti.

Correct:
The "porn star" hat? Has to go. And Hammond is having a talk with Ferretti.

Wrong:
Got any idea how much Teal'c loves hats?

Not preferred:
Have you got any idea how much Teal'c loves hats?

Correct:
Do you have any idea how much Teal'c loves hats?

exceptions in fiction

However, as fanfiction writers, it's important to note that have got and got are common in speech, and character voice trumps grammatical correctness. With phrases like "You've got mail," "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em," and "Got milk?" prevalent in the culture, these informal usages aren't going to go away. Dialogue, thoughts, or tight point of view will often sound more authentic with a have got or got construction. Know your character, though. Someone who uses slang or a "regular Joe" style will use got, where someone with a more formal speaking style won't.

Jack chivvied his team, "Carter, Daniel, move it! You've got five minutes to pick out your hats before I'm pulling the Santa truck out of the mall. We gotta be at the base Christmas party in an hour."

in sum

Use got in the past tense and gotten as the past participle of to get, meaning to obtain or receive, or to become.

Use got with to have--meaning to be in possession of or to be obliged--cautiously, usually informally and when you are representing colloquial speech or character viewpoint. Avoid the use of got alone to mean have altogether, unless necessary for character voice or viewpoint.

Comments

[theantipam.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the helpful info. Got to see Teal'c model those hats *VBG*

Your point about "character voice trumps grammatical correctness" is also important. Writer/beta teams sometimes lose that in the quest for the grammatically perfect writing!

[green-grrl.livejournal.com]

Eeeew! :-D

Yes, I just had a heck of a time writing a teenager's POV. Teens in casual conversation have terrible grammar, but some grammatical rules about pronoun antecedents and verb tenses are important for making writing make sense. It was a tightrope walk!

(Teal'c wants your icon's hat!)