Grammer

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Each time I hear "You've GOT mail" my ears revolt. Imagine how many people a day hear this improper phrase? Please check your grammer, it is difficult enough to teach proper English.

"You have mail" is simple enough.

-- Bob Hoyt (C44PC@AOL.COM), July 13, 1999

Answers

Exactly.

-- Jean Scott (dezane@hotmail.com), February 05, 2000.

"You've got mail" is grammatically correct. "You got mail" is incorrect. the 've in You've stands for "have" in other words, "You've got mail" is the same as "You have got mail". If it sounds bad or not, it is correct grammatically speaking.

-- Gary Milner (garymilner@hotmail.com), February 11, 2000.

It's the "got" that's bad grammar. Lot's of people say, "I've got a cold," but I was told this is incorrect, and it should be "I have a cold."

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), October 29, 2000.

I thought grammer was spelled grammar?????

-- hrm (mugz@nospam.geocities.com), February 16, 2001.

It woud ve correca as "You have gotten mail"

-- me (dilbert@me.com), May 29, 2001.


Hello, My name is Srinivas. I live in India, am 25 year old young guy, single. I'm Christian.

My Postal address:

Pilla Naga Srinivasa Rao, Jillellamudi Vari Lane, Eastern Street, Eluru-534001, Andhra Pradesh-India.

-- Pilla Srinivas ( Pilla Naga Srinivasa Rao ) (creator7007@netscape.net), July 04, 2002.


I hate the way Hollywood dumbs down grammar by using the word "got" everywhere they should be using "have". Nothing's wrong with "You Have Mail," except that too many of America's public school products use the word "got" inappropriately and Hollywood doesn't want to offend them. Obviously, AoL Time Warner doesn't want to either. It's all about lowest-common-denominator marketing, how tiresome. The only other possible conclusion is that Hollywood and AoL are run by stupid people, or non-English- speaking foreigners.

-- I try (trying@hotmail.com), December 16, 2002.

"You have got mail", the unabbreviated version of "you've got mail"is absolutely, completely INCORRECT!!!!!! "Have got" is not an alternative second-person present tense conjigation for the verb "to have". The correct conjigation for the second person present tense of the verb "to have" is, and always will be, "have". "You have a phone call", "You have too many cats", "You have to stop biting your nails!" If you are currently in possession of something in the present, then you "have" that something, you do not "have got" that something. "To get" means TO ACQUIRE SOMETHING, bring it into your posession. "Got" is the second person, first person, and third person past tense conjigations of this verb. "You got the tickets, right?", "I got three watermelons yesterday from a street vendor", "He got the flu after running in the rain". All of these examples mean that something(s) WAS/WERE ACQUIRED in the past and may or may not be the current possesions of their respective recipients. First you acquire something, then you are said to be in posession of that something. In other words, first you GET something, then you HAVE that something. You can not acquire and be in posession of something at the same time;first you acquire it, then immediatly after you are in posssion. One leads to the other. So remember, using "have got" to mean "have" is completly, totally and unforgivably INCORRECT. Ok, so maybe not "ünforgivably", but you get the point.

-- Luke Anthony Garlock (Angeltempest@yahoo.com), June 30, 2003.

I COMPLETELY agree with the previous poster.

What is really disturbing me these days is that ALL of TV is now adopting this language! It's always "I've got", "You've got", "We've got", etc., instead of "I have", "We have", "You have".

It is VERY rare that I even hear the correct words on TV anymore!!! It is really very disturbing.

Even my well educated sister is now talking like that even though I have corrected her several times!

This must be a conspiracy from the Reptile Aliens or something!?

-- John Smith (js@hotmail.com), July 28, 2003.


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