What's the difference?

Question

Howdy,What's the difference in meaning between these two sentences and which one is more common?1. Did you get my last email?2. Have you got my last email? (got = received?)Thanks

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

#1 asks whether, at any particular point in the past, you received the email.

In #2 there are two senses mixed up together. In one sense, "got" = "received", and the sentence asks whether you have received the email. The usual differences between "received" (in #1) and "have received" (in #2) apply. In another sense, "got" implies possession, and #2 asks whether the email is in your possession now.

In the case of emails there's often little practical difference between "received", "have received" and "possess", so your sentences are often more-or-less interchangeable. In my usage, neither strikes me as noticeably more common, though a Google search produces a lot more hits for #1. If the last email was a long time ago then I would use #1.

In other cases, the difference in meaning betwee "did you get" and "have you got" may be more significant. For things not as routinely sent and received as emails, the meaning of "Have you got X?" usually defaults to simply "Is X in your possession?"

AlpheccaStars · Answer

1. Did you get my last email? (Did you receive the last email I sent?)

2. Have you got my last email?
I only ask this if I am chatting to the person, asked them to find my last email and look at it so we can discuss it. "Have you got it?" means "do you have it on your screen yet?" It is very informal.
Also informally, I can ask: "Have you gotten my last email?" My first preference is neither of these, I ask: "Did you receive my email?"

What's the difference?

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