Got vs Gotten?

No, it sounds stupid and lazy; there are so many wonderful words in English that convey the same or similar meaning.
 
I have read that gotten was brought over by the the original English, but that after that tiff from 1775-1783, the Americans stuck with it, but the defeated Brits, miffed to say the least, began to use got, and to write disparaging letters to The Times if a visiting American deigned to use gotten.
 
Isn't it more a flow thing like a/an, like "i've got sick of this" versus "i've gotten sick of this".

There's no real difference in meaning it just makes it flow more naturally.

There are worse things for making you sound stupid, like pronouncing acceptable "asseptable" rather than the correct "ackseptable".
 
BowdonUK said:
As long as people can understand you then who cares.
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People who are vaguely educated I imagine.. I mean you could get by with just grunting and pointing but that wouldn't make for an enjoyable form of communication!
That being said I've just been informed I've used the word gotton myself too so there we go :(
 
Our school English teacher told us to avoid words like "got" and "said" at all costs :p Esp "got". There are so many better replacements: received, attained, acquired, etc.

"Gotten" is just utter crap no matter how you spin it :p
 
"gotten" is an archaic form of the past tense of "got". In this case, it's English English that has changed while American English hasn't. In English English, "gotten" only survived into modern times in the phrase "ill-gotten" to describe something acquired in an illegal way (and even that seems to have fallen out of use).

FoxEye said:
Our school English teacher told us to avoid words like "got" and "said" at all costs :p Esp "got". There are so many better replacements: received, attained, acquired, etc.

"Gotten" is just utter crap no matter how you spin it :p
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That too.

The American usage that grates on me is to use "get" in a passive context. "Can I get a <whatever>?" No, you can't. You're a customer. You can't come behind the bar and fetch it yourself. I will get it and pass it to you. You can receive a <whatever> here, but you can't get a <whatever> here. If you want to get a <whatever>, you'll have to go to a shop where you serve yourself. Not a bar where you are served by someone else. Basic English, pal.
 
How about gotted a car?

I hear so much bad English these days I'm actually begining to dumb down, if it's possible.

American English dominates here and that's quiet a harsh realisation.
 
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