GOT

Question

which is correct ?i got your nameori have got your name

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Both are wrong. I got your name and I have got your name are both right in the right context. I got is a past tense whereas I have got is either present tense or perfect tense. I have got is often used to mean I have: I have [got] enough money. Let's go to the cinema.

CB

AFE · Answer

Hello!

In short: they are BOTH correct.

But they can and do have different contexts of use.

I don't have time atm to explain... but perhaps another kind soul could do it in the meantime.

Nick

Clive · Answer

Hi,
which is correct ?

i got your name OK. Just tells us about a past event at a past time. Maybe yesterday. Maybe 10 years ago. Maybe, since then, I have forgotten your name. Maybe I haven't.

or
i have got your name OK. Suggests that I got it at some time in the past, and I still know it right now. EDITED

Please use capitals!

Clive

AlpheccaStars · Answer

Yayya LautnerI got your name

Context.
A: (Answering the phone.) Hello?
B: Hello, my name is Joe Smith from XYZ company. May I speak with Mrs. Jones?
A: Yes. I'll connect you to Mrs. Jones. I got your name, but not your company. Would you repeat that please?
B: XYZ company.

Yayya LautnerI have got your name

I have got your name and address written down in my address book, but your phone number is missing.

AFE · Answer

OK, I thought I'd come back on here and post again because everyone seems confused :-)

I have got your name

is NOT present perfect!

it means "I am in possesion of your name; I know your name"

I got your name.

is NOT the past

it has eliminated the "have", but is still the same sentence.

it means "I am in possesion of your name; I know your name:"

Some notes:

have got started out as a normal everyday present perfect phrase: with present perfect meaning. Now, however, in modern usage, it is a phrase which is used to show possesion. Examples:

I have a pen / I have got a pen / I got a pen

You might hear some people say it is informal. "(have) got" is often given as examples when talking about the family, and informal topics. But it is not informal per se. It is standard English, used more (but not exclusively) by speakers in Britain.

Also, have got - have gotten:

Here, gotten emphasises the change in state - from not having to having. Examples:

The team has got 3 goals.

The team has gotten 3 goals already after 3 minutes!

gotten is considered informal by most people (my own assumption), and my dad says it's bad English hahaha So use it with caution!

Finally, the boundary between present simple and present perfect for have got is often blurred, but the use is nearly always to show present possesion.

Nick

CalifJim · Answer

AFEI have got your name
1. is NOT present perfect!

It's present perfect in form; present in meaning. Use the search box at the upper right and you'll see we've been through this a hundred times on this site over the years!

AFEI got your name.
1. is NOT the past

Did you forget to think this through?

Last week we had a drawing of names at work for our annual "Secret Santa" event.
Peter got my name. I got your name.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

AFEgotten is considered informal by most people

ESL teachers in California teach, right or wrong, that got and gotten are the past participles of get; got is British, and gottenis American. No mention of any formal/informal distinction.

CJ

AFE · Answer

I assume that if it's been discussed "100 times" and you're still calling it the 'present perfect' to students, then it's been a pretty poor discussion.

Also, your example of "I got your name" is not valid I'm afraid. Please note the following examples:

I have got a job with Tesco = I work for Tesco

I got a job with Tesco = I work for Tesco.

I can see how you are confused CalifJim, because grammar books tell us that "got" is the past of "get". When native speakers talk, however, this "got" is very commonly used to express present meaning by way of my explanation in my previous post.

In English, not everything is how it appears on the surface, and as teachers or advisors of the language, we should be careful with giving wrong information. If you would like more help in understanding the grammar presented above, I can provide some useful articles

CalifJim · Answer

AFEI can see how you are confused CalifJim

Well, it's refreshing to see that someone can straighten out the entire world with his own idiosyncratic and condescending way of looking at things. Good luck on that.

AFEwe should be careful with giving wrong information.

That's why you should not have said got is not past when there are clearly instances where it is a past, as I showed.

AFE... and you're still calling it the 'present perfect' to students, then it's been a pretty poor discussion.

You've obviously not read any of the relevant threads.

CJ

AlpheccaStars · Answer

AFEAlso, your example of "I got your name" is not valid I'm afraid. Please note the following examples:
* I have got a job with Tesco = I work for Tesco
* I got a job with Tesco = I work for Tesco.

Got is a perfectly valid past form of the verb get.
Present: When are you going to get a job?
Past: After I graduated from school, many years ago, I got a job with Tesco. But it was short-lived.
I got your name out of the directory.

GOT

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