Comments | linguaphiles: Expressing Possession

studentsnark in linguaphiles

Expressing Possession

Feb 28, 2012 11:37

How do you say that something belongs to you or that you own something? I've been very curious about this, because I've noticed that I say "I've got that book" or "I haven't got any of that," while most people I know say would be equally likely to say "I have a cat" or "I've got a cat." But they would always say "I don't have that."

It's the second ( Read more... )

syntax, english, accents, english dialects, american english

Comments 23

sollersuk February 28 2012, 17:46:53 UTC

UK: "I haven't got" all the time. "I don't have" comes over to me as a giveaway that the speaker is American.

13chapters February 28 2012, 18:23:12 UTC

Agreed - when I read fanfic, this is one of the dead giveaways that the writer is not American. (My fandom is US-based.) Lots of British writers who are very thorough in making their diction American miss this.

FWIW, I'm American, and a former EFL teach who was required to teach British English. (This tripped me up a lot; I'm afraid my own answers when my students asked me "how do you say...?" were not always consistent with what their textbook said.)

iinkaholic February 28 2012, 19:37:59 UTC

i haven't got sounds very british english to me.
i've got sounds british english to me. i live in a lower income community in the us and i hear people say 'i got' all the time, though, haha.

di_glossia February 28 2012, 20:48:54 UTC

It's very much a British vs. American English distinction. However, there's probably several American dialects that still use it. In almost all cases, I would use "don't" (I'm American), with the notable exception of "I haven't got a clue" and "s/he hasn't a care in the world".

I feel your pain in being confused over your accent! My parents are from Pennyslvania, but I grew up in southeastern Virginia, then spent two years in the upper part of the state where I caught a lot of flack for "speaking like a Southerner".

vilakins February 29 2012, 00:16:28 UTC

In NZ both "I don't have" and "I haven't got" are used. I have no idea which one I mainly go for.

cutthroatpixie February 29 2012, 03:31:26 UTC

I use both "I have" and "I've got" interchangeably, but I typically say "I don't have", instead of "I haven't got". I will say, "I haven't got a clue," though that's the only time I can think of where I'd definitely use "I haven't got". I'm from Portland, OR.