I came across the phrase Gotten to like him in one of the English movies. Is it appropriate and grammatical to say the following:
Sarah has gotten to like him.
-
3"Curiously, one of the reasons why gotten got (!) such a bad press in British English was John Galsworthy's failure to actually understand how it was used in America, believing (and writing) that all Americans used gotten instead of got on all occasions, which is simply not correct." [emphasis mine] miketodd.net/encyc/gotten.htm– KrisCommented May 9, 2014 at 10:48
Add a comment
|
3 Answers
Gotten is an American word. It is used as the past-participle of get.
So, yes, it is appropriate and correct to say it, though the way you've used it sounds incorrect. Consider:
Sarah has gotten to liking him.
Also, this is not really used outside of the US. In the UK (and most everywhere else) you would say:
Sarah got to liking him.
-
-
Sarah got to liking him.- I'm not sure about this. I'm not a knowledgeable guy but I think it will change the tense of OP's phrase. Commented May 9, 2014 at 10:42
-
Better to call it an "Americanism" in the given context. The word exists in BrE as well (as the past participle). The meaning is not quite the same as the use of pp in AmE. The answer, therefore, is more complex than this.– KrisCommented May 9, 2014 at 10:43
-
1@Tucker. It is certainly used in Britain by native speakers. Not 'used' in the sense 'always chosen', but 'used' in the sense 'chosen when considered suitable, as for effect'. Commented May 9, 2014 at 10:50
-
2In American English there are two past participles of get: got and gotten -- neither is the past participle. They occur in different circumstances, and there is rarely a choice as to which one to use. My explanation of this phenomenon here gets the most hits of any file on my website; last month (May 2014) it was downloaded over 8000 times. Which suggests to me that the actual facts are largely unknown, but -- as usual -- vaguely but firmly stated opinion comes to the rescue. Commented Jun 25, 2014 at 18:09
In a non-searchable and potentially ephemeral comment to the original posting, Professor Lawler kindly presented the following answer:
In American English there are two past participles of get: got and gotten — neither is the past participle. They occur in different circumstances, and there is rarely a choice as to which one to use.
My explanation of this phenomenon here gets the most hits of any file on my website; last month (May 2014) it was downloaded over 8000 times.
Which suggests to me that the actual facts are largely unknown, but — as usual — vaguely but firmly stated opinion comes to the rescue.
I’ve marked this posting Community Wiki because it is John’s answer not my own, and so I deserve no reputation from it.
It is a common-enough idiom. It suggests that her fondness for him has developed over time.
answered May 9, 2014 at 10:28
