There's something that's been bothering me...

British people tend to say, "I've got," rather than, "I have." Even I've taken to saying it with disturbing frequency. It seems fundamentally wrong to me on a number of levels; but since even the most highly educated people in England seem to use it, I finally decided to find out whether it is considered to be grammatically correct.

A quick Google search revealed that the answer to that is under continual debate. Some grammarians consider it to be incorrect usage, some consider it to be the only correct usage, and most (it seems) consider both forms to be correct. Though I am but an amateur grammarian, I remain firmly planted in the first camp.

Here's why:
1. Have got is redundant and unnecessary.
2. Have is in the present tense, whereas got is in the past tense.
3. To have is passive, whereas to get is active.

On that last point, I believe I have gotten is correct where the emphasis is on the action of getting rather than condition of having. In that case, it is akin to passé composé (i.e. "j'ai eu").

Note, however, that I used gotten rather than got. Apparently this is also a point of contention, with the British preferring got as the past tense of get. I can only understand this if it is being used on its own, without the auxiliary have (i.e. "I got this for you"). "I've got this for you," just sounds wrong but, "I've gotten this for you," is perfectly fine. "I gotten this for you," is also wrong.

Maybe I'm just biased toward what I always heard growing up, but sometimes I feel as though (well educated) North Americans speak better English than the English do. Still, I fear this will be a losing battle. My cadence, phrasing, vocabulary, and vowel sounds are rapidly shifting to become more British. I can't help it.

I just hope I never forsake my Ts and Rs.