gotten

Question

What is past participle form of "Get" and "Forget"? Is it "gotten" or "got"? And "forgotten" or "forgot"?

Some people say "gotten" and "forgotten" is obsolete and they prefer to "got" and "forgot" instead of "gotten" and "forgotten". Is it OK?

Should I say--

I have gotten or got?
I have forgotten or forgot?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

This has already been answered in other threads. You should read them.

Teechr · Answer

AmE: gotten & forgotten
BrE: got, forgotten

Sft M · Answer

Thank you! But may be somewhere I saw "have forgot".

Teechr · Answer

sft M"have forgot"

That would be ungrammatical.

Blue Jay · Answer

Gotten is mainly used by American speakers. It is not usually used by Brits, except in fixed expressions like ill-gotten gains.
Gotten is usually used by Americans to mean obtained (she's gotten a new car), become (he's gotten good at baking cakes) and other "process" meanings of got. Americans use got to indicate have (I've got $12 in my pocket). As a result, she's got a dog would indicate she has one, while she's gotten a dog would mean she has obtained one.
Brits use got for both types of usage. As a result the correct choice here would depend on whether you wish to use American or British English, and what you wanted to say.
Forgotten is certainly not obsolete. I have forgotten would be correct, as would I forgot.
I forgot to bring a coat.
I have forgotten his name.

Sft M · Answer

Thanks a lot! <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Cool Breeze · Answer

sft MThank you! But may be somewhere I saw "have forgot".

There's nothing wrong with your eyesight.

—Usage. Both FORGOT and FORGOTTEN are used as the past participle of FORGET: Many have already forgot (or forgotten) the hard times of the Depression. Only FORGOTTEN is used attributively: half-forgotten memories.
RHUD

CB

Sft M · Answer

Now I am assured. Thank you! <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Blue Jay · Answer

I'm astonished to learn that dictionaries list forgot as an acceptable alternative past participle. COCA lists 1173 matches for have forgotten and 16 for have forgot. It has 273 matches for I've forgotten, and four for I've forgot. BNC lists 316 matches for have forgotten and only one for have forgot. It has 204 matches for I've forgotten and 23 for I've forgot.
NGram results also support the conclusion that forgotten is by far the more common past participle.
Fowler commented, "forgot, as a past participle for the current forgotten, is now, except in uneducated speech, a deliberate archaism."

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