A practical english grammar - Vyssaja skola 1978
The idiom HAVE GOT and the verb GET
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The expression have, got is an interesting idiom in which the present perfect of get (= “acquire”) has come to mean “possess.” The expression have got is in every way. equivalent to the present tense of have when the latter means “possess” or is followed by an infinitive.
I have five dollars in my pocket.
I’ve got five dollars in my pocket.
I have to stay home today.
I’ve got to stay home today.
In American English, have got is stereotyped and idiomatic. It has no inflection, except for the s-form, has got. It is not the same as the regular present perfect of get, which is have gotten. In British English, however, got is used as the past participle of get in all constructions, and there, is no difference between have got (= “possess”) and have got (= “have acquired, become, etc.”).
American:
He hasn’t got (doesn’t possess) a ticket.
He hasn’t gotten (hasn’t acquired) a ticket.
It has gotten (has become) much cooler lately.
British:
He hasn’t got (doesn’t possess) a ticket.
He hasn’t got (hasn’t acquired) a ticket.
It has got (has become) much cooler lately.
There is no past tense for have got in American English; the past tense of have is used instead.
Present: I’ve got five dollars now.
Past: I had five dollars yesterday.
In British English, had got is used to mean “possessed.” Americans hearing this idiom usually misinterpret it to mean “had acquired.”
British: He couldn’t see the show because he hadn’t got (didn’t possess) a ticket.
American: He couldn’t see the show because he didn’t have a ticket.
The fact that the meaning of have got is identical with that of a present-tense verb has caused many American speakers to use do as its echo, rather than .have, which is the normal echo for perfect verb phrases.
Have you got any money?
No, I don’t. Do you?
It is doubtful whether this would be judged correct by all American speakers, but it is widely used nevertheless.
Overlying all of this is a puristic tendency which, in the United States at least, seems to regard get as a not quite respectable verb. Millions of school children have been carefully taught to say have instead of have got if they want to speak “correctly.” This hesitation to use get then affects the use of this verb in all its meanings, and in official English, speakers seek out all kinds of synonyms in a regrettable effort to replace a forceful and extremely useful item in the English vocabulary.
The latest edition of Webster’s New International Dictionary devotes over half a page to get, not counting the phrases in which the word appears. Here are just a few of the more common meanings of this verb:
1) “gain possession of, acquire”
He will get a lot of money when his father dies.
2) “bring or convey (something)”
How are they going to get the piano up to the third floor?
Get that dog out of here!
3) “prepare (meals)”
I’m very busy; I’ve got to get breakfast now.
4) “be subjected to the experience of being . . .” (with a past participle)
You’re going to get hurt if you don’t watch out!
5) “persuade, induce”
Can you get your brother to help us?
6) “succeed in reaching (a destination)”
We’ll get to New York about 4:30.
7) “make one’s way” (often said of inanimate things that seem to move under their own power or in ways that are unobserved by the speaker)
Dust got all over the books while we were away.
The chickens got into the garden and ate all the lettuce.
8) “contrive, manage, have the opportunity” (followed by an infinitive) I don’t get to see my family very often, since they live abroad.
9) “become”
March is windy and cold, but the weather gets very pleasant in April.