Proper use of the word ”got” - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: AndersJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 02:55:04 am
content: I recently saw the expression ”The system got detectors”.I believe the writer means that the system has, or uses, or is equipped with detectors.Is the first phrase, with the word ”got”, proper english?

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:07:28 am
content: I am not sure if it is incorrect English, but it is not great English. The words get and got at school usually resulted in a lecture from the teachers since it can always be replaced with a more informative word. Otherwise, you end up with something like:"I got woken by the alarm, so I got up. Then I got dressed and then I got breakfast and then I got a bus to school and I got there late so I got a detention."

author: Nusa
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:12:56 am
content: I'd say it depends on context and meaning, which isn't clear if the phase is used in isolation.For instance, I have no problem with "Jack got pizza." when the subject of food comes up.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:14:10 am
content: That is not "proper" English. At least not AmEnglish, and I suspect not proper BrEnglish, either.There are only two colloquial uses that I can think of:Past-tense of "get". Perhaps it means that the system acquired or recognized sensors?Slang for "has"/"have". Here in the US, there is a popular advert campaign for the dairy industry where the slogan is "Got Milk?" which is interpreted as: "Did you remember to buy milk on you way home".Perhaps it was a parody of the milk advert? As @Nusa said, much depends on the context.

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:21:05 am
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on February 05, 2018, 03:14:10 amIt is only wrong if you are trying to say "The system has detectors".If you mean that the system had detectors added in the past, then it seems fine to me.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:24:35 am
content: Got is past tense, has is present tense."In the last upgrade the system **got** detectors, so the system **has** detectors."Without context, "the system got detectors" may or may not be a proper use of the word.English is ambiguous in many more ways than that, don't get too hung up on it, it's still a living evolving language.

author: AndersJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:26:45 am
content: I edited the original post,as an attempt to emphasize that the system HAS detectors.Detectors have not been ”added”.

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:38:28 am
content: Without context, it could mean anything from a poor Chinglish translation to an attempt to use popular slang.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:40:56 am
content: Quote from: AndersJ on February 05, 2018, 03:26:45 amIf that's the intention, then no it's not very proper.But it is not uncommonly used like that (where have/has is more appropriate) in "street" slang - "you got mad skillz bro", "i got game", "I got to go out"...

author: xrunner
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:41:11 am
content: Quote from: amspire on February 05, 2018, 03:21:05 amRight. For example:"Our new system arrived without the detectors we ordered. The company sent a rep out to install them, and the system got detectors."

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 03:43:19 am
content: In colloquial AmEnglish, it is common to use got to mean present tense possession - Baby got game, for example. Or from The Wire "he gots to be got" meaning "we have to kill him". As you can probably guess, it's ghetto vernacular which a lot of Americans like to use to show how cool they are.In normal written communications, got is, as has been noted, the past tense. Personally, I dislike the use of slang in technical documents though it's steadily creeping it's way in.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 04:08:46 am
content: Quote from: AndersJ on February 05, 2018, 02:55:04 amIf you want to say the system has detectors, then no, it is definitely not proper English.If you want to say detectors were added to the system, then it is still not good style. One should say, "Later on, the systemgaineddetectors", or "Later on, the systemwas givendetectors".However, it would be correct to say something like, "Later on, the system got more complicated." In this case it is a property of the system that changed, rather than something being added to the system.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 04:10:10 am
content: Quote from: phil from seattle on February 05, 2018, 03:43:19 amOscilloscope Manual, Year 2120You's kin use da damn Probe Check Wizard t'quickly verify dat yo' probe be opuh'tin' propuh'ly. Slap mah fro! De wizard also helps ya' adplum de probe compensashun (usually adjusted wid some screw on de probe body o' probe connecto') and set da damn Probe opshun attenuashun facto' in de vertical menu (fo' 'esample, de menu dat appears when ya' push de CH 1 MENU button).( all credit to the standard Jive translator )

author: amspire
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 04:16:32 am
content: "Got" has such a broad meaning that it is very often ambiguous. If you say "I got the prize", it could mean you won the prize, you were handed the prize, you bought the prize, you retrieved the prize from wherever it was stored, or even vague things like "I understood why that particular prize was chosen for that person". It is a word that makes you to guess the meaning from the context and it is not hard to guess wrong.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 04:22:20 am
content: Quote from: amspire on February 05, 2018, 04:16:32 amBut, as in all your examples, "got" is always past tense.Usage in the present tense, such as "I got rhythm, I got music," is slang usage and is not proper or grammatical English.

author: BravoV
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 04:28:39 am
content: Can't contribute much on this discussion as English isn't my native, but I'm glad this kind of topic pop out once in a while, with the hope that you English native speakers at least can understand the frustrations we are experiencing.PS : Example, until today, when needed, my brain still does this intuitively => good, gooder and goodest, although it sort of run thru an "exception fault" condition, and take the 'exception" sub-routine to process the static table .... good, better and best.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 05:21:33 am
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on February 05, 2018, 03:38:28 amBoth those possibilities are understood on this side of the Pacific, too.When I was in primary school, "got" was a word that was not a safe one to use in English class. It was very much discouraged I believe, in hindsight, to make us think a bit harder in choosing a more informative word.

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 05:29:20 am
content: Quote from: IanB on February 05, 2018, 04:08:46 amAs my English professor taught us, use active verbs, none of the would-ing, were-ing, was-ing, getting, being and so on. So, "The manufacturer added detectors in a later revision." or "The manufacturer revised the design to include detectors."

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 05:31:29 am
content: Quote from: sleemanj on February 05, 2018, 04:10:10 amTruDat. Slap dem bojims, mofo!

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 05:32:18 am
content: * shudder *

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 06:10:41 pm
content: Always remember that bad English usage is a common symptom of spam and other scams.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 06:24:03 pm
content: That would be fairly correct (though a bit informal) to express that the system was given detectors at some specific point in the past, but not to express that it currently has them.e.g."The system got detectors in the last hardware revision"More formally"The system was given detectors" , as "got" suggests that the system obtained them by itself.So now "the system has got detectors", though the "got" is a bit redundant here and "the system now has detectors" would be more concise.And BTW " gotten" is not a word

author: AndersJ
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 06:53:54 pm
content: Thanks everyone for spending time explaining this.Much appreciated.Anders J

author: Richard Crowley
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 07:51:53 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on February 05, 2018, 06:10:41 pmI always thought that as spammers/scammers got smarter they would start using more proper grammar and we would have more difficulty in spotting obvious trash.However, someone pointed out that the bad grammar might actually be intentional.To "self-select" people who were less discerning and presumably easier to scam.In order to conduct a "profitable" scam, they are just as interested in filtering out the people who recognize the scam as we are in avoiding them.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 08:51:04 pm
content: Quote from: AndersJ on February 05, 2018, 02:55:04 amThat is what I would say is improper English. However, if you and I were on friendly terms and working together in an English speaking environment, like here in the US, I would say that informal English is often used and the improper usages could slip in. If both if us were native speakers of the language, the understanding would be clear enough to both of us.If I were explaining something to you in this informal way, I may ask you "Get it?". Your response could be "Got it.". My response would then be "Good.".

author: rsjsouza
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 10:06:19 pm
content: Quote from: Richard Crowley on February 05, 2018, 07:51:53 pmAs a friend of mine used to day: "Every day a 'smart' and a 'dumb' person wakes up. If they happen to bump into each other a 'deal' happens!"

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 10:09:33 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 05, 2018, 06:24:03 pmLOL at thatI think I could say, in Britain, that "I haven't gotten any sleep the past few nights" and I think nobody would raise an eyebrow at my choice of words.

author: phil from seattle
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 10:22:50 pm
content: I think that is true in the US as well.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 10:30:01 pm
content: Quote from: IanB on February 05, 2018, 10:09:33 pmMaybe but way less common than in the US - "Haven't had" would be more likely

author: lundmar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 10:31:38 pm
content: Quote from: AndersJ on February 05, 2018, 02:55:04 amWell, what to say - English is a fickle thing. I recently saw a guy saw wood with a saw.

author: John Heath
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 10:54:43 pm
content: English is a henz 57 from many other languages. The blame for this can be place directly on English flag wavers. Way did they have wave those flags as it really screwed up the English language. The flag goes up "England rules the waves". Of course another country seeing this invades England stealing their wealth and women. These visitors changed the English language. 50 years go by and another flag waver "England rules the waves" leading to another invasion changing the English language even more. When will they learn to stop wave that flag. It changed so much that old English spoken can not be understood. An example.ts a breonik moonic uinic ti tunicDo you know what this means?

author: lundmar
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 11:28:36 pm
content: Quote from: John Heath on February 05, 2018, 10:54:43 pmLet me guess, it translates to "take a break in the moonlight with a unique tonic"

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 11:38:57 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on February 05, 2018, 10:30:01 pmHmm. Perhaps I have been living the US for too long and I have started thinking in US English

author: John Heath
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 11:47:37 pm
content: Quote from: lundmar on February 05, 2018, 11:28:36 pmClose ! It is a bright moon night tonight.

author: John Heath
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2018, 11:51:37 pm
content: On second thought " It is a bright moon light tonight "

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2018, 02:06:32 am
content: What language is it?Oh, reading back, Old English.. thats what I thought.Interesting.

author: cdev
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2018, 02:21:15 am
content: No, it's not.According to "LanguageTool 3.9" it has problems. However LT doesn't tell us what they are in English.Starting check in English (American)...Potential problems found: 0 (time: 30ms)Token Disambiguator Log<S>The[the/DT,B-NP-singular]system[system/NN:UN,E-NP-singular]got[get/VBD,B-VP]VBD_VBN: got[get/VBD,get/VBN,B-VP] -> got[get/VBD,B-VP]detectors[detector/NNS,B-NP-plural|E-NP-plural].[./., </S>,O]Quote from: AndersJ on February 05, 2018, 02:55:04 am

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2018, 02:42:10 am
content: QuoteHart's Rulessays:QuoteFowler'sagrees and basically reiterates thatgottenis used when it means something is gained,gotwhen it means 'possessed' or 'owned'.I think these arbiters of pukka English disagree with you.

author: John Heath
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2018, 08:01:40 am
content: I gots to gets the meter ya know to makes the measurement ya see.Always the "s" on the end. I have heard this spoken but I do not know where it originated. It could be old English that settled in 1700 ? Not sure. Does this ring a bell to anyone? gots to gets ....