Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Go with your gut -- which would you say?

<<She said that she had thought it was a quirky habit only her daughter had. But she had no clue where her daughter had gotten it from.>>

Bethy, your English prof uses 'gotten'???? <eg>

Carol

I would imagine so. "Gotten" is the preferred form in American English although "got" is permissible. "I have got" sounds as weird to most of us as "I have gotten" sounds to Canadians, Australians, and the British. I think it's a throwback to past participles ending in -en like "chosen".

Schoolmarm

When I first learned English, the book I used would never say, i.e. "I have a book". Instead, it was using "I've got a book". So, even though I learned I could say "I have", the form "get-got-got" was the one I got accustomed with.
When I first saw the form "gotten" I was surprised.

Anyway, about the on/by accident thing:

I had never heard or read anywhere "on accident". I've always seen "by accident".

"On accident" sounds to me like "during an accident", kinda like "An accident was happening, and during this accident he broke the vase". Still, I've never heard it before.

But hey, what do I know anyway??

See ya.
AnnaBtG.

I'm not surprised. Until very recently, British English was always the standard taught as a second language in countries other than the USA. My guess is that it still is most places, although American English is trying to intrude. This is parallel to French French being taught in schools rather than Canadian French. There are some differences in usage between the European and North American varieties of both languages. To the best of my knowledge, only Americans, i.e. residents of the United States, commonly use "gotten" as the past participle of "get." In Britain it's considered an archaic form (like "boughten").

Schoolmarm

I am 25 and grew up in southern Illinois. I have always said "on accident". However, it is one of those things where I know it is wrong, but it's what comes naturally. I also say "anyways" and use good instead of well frequently when talking.

Anna