英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

英语语法:184 Is "Got" Proper English?

时间:2010-07-05 01:11来源:互联网 提供网友:飘絮330813   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Guest-writer Bonnie Trenga is going to help us get along with the word “get.” Don’t let others’ use of it get your goat. “Get” is a perfectly1 normal word. It just happens to have many meanings and is used in many idioms and colloquial2 expressions, some of which are not accepted.
A reader named Sigrid felt that she should correct herself when she wrote, “Must get your book soon.” She writes, “I almost erased3 the word ‘get’ and replaced it with ‘purchase,’ but that sounded too formal; however, use of the word ‘get’ would make a great podcast. I’m often changing that word and substituting it for another, frequently some form of the verb ‘to be’ or ‘to have,’ in my clients’ manuscripts.” Sigrid is also wondering about how to use the verb “to get” in the past tense. Let’s get to the bottom of things.
When You Can Use “Get”
The quick answer to Sigrid’s question is that you don’t need to censor4 yourself when the word “get” crops up, and it’s probably best to stop correcting others unless they use a definitely illegal phrase (more on that later). “‘Get’ is good English” (1). It would be almost impossible to get through a day without saying “get.”
No style guide I checked bans the use of “get.” In fact, most authorities laud5 how useful the word is. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage provides a list of “natural uses in which it passes virtually unnoticed:
get a job
get my book for me
get rich
get one’s feet wet
flattery will get you nowhere
get going
get the upper hand etc.” (2).
 
A search for “get” on Dictionary.com yields one group of meanings that is 63 items long (3). You can even use “get” instead of “be” in passive constructions if you want to put more emphasis on who did the action. The American Heritage Dictionary compares these two sentences: “The demonstrators were arrested” and “The demonstrators got arrested” (4). In the first sentence, using the verb “to be” implies that the police were the driving force behind the arrest. In the second sentence, using the verb “to get” places more emphasis on the demonstrators themselves.
Tenses of “Get”
Now let’s get to the question of tense. “Get” and “gets” are the present-tense forms of “to get,” as in “She gets mad at herself when she’s late.” The past tense is “got,” as in “She got mad.”
Now comes the tricky6 part: we have two choices when it comes to the past participle. A past participle is a word like “broken” in this sentence: “She has broken her wrist twice.” If you speak American English, you will use “gotten” as the past participle, as in “He has gotten the same gift three years in a row.” Users of British English, on the other hand, will say “got” (5): “He has got the same gift three years in a row.”
When You Might Choose Another Word Instead of “Get”
As we’ve already said, “get” is normal English, and there’s no need to substitute another word for it. However, if you’re writing a very formal paper, or know that someone in your audience will object to the word “get” for some reason, you can use more formal words such as “receive,” “purchase,” and “obtain.” It’s up to you to decide when to be formal. Sigrid decided7 correctly that it would sound overly stuffy8 to write this to a favorite author: “I must purchase your book.”
“Have Got”
Many listeners, including Sigrid, have been wondering if the phrase “have got” is acceptable English. Well, you have got to check out our previous episode on that topic. It’ll tell you that the answer is yes, you can use this expression, though it is considered informal.
Non-Standard Uses
Before we get going, you should get up to speed on which expressions are considered non-standard. Some colloquial or informal uses of “get” and “got” are controversial (6), and you wouldn’t want to write them unless you’re writing a character who speaks slang. For example, it would not be Standard English to say, “You got to try this” if you mean “You must try this” or “You have got to try this.” “You got to try this” would be acceptable only if you mean “You had the opportunity to try this.” Still, you will hear people use “got” in this manner.
Another common use of “got” that is not technically9 grammatically correct is the advertising10 slogan “Got milk?” Nevertheless, you’ll still hear takeoffs of this expression. At a recent dentist appointment, I saw a shirt that read “Got braces11?”
Thus is the unholy power of advertising.
Summary
In this episode, we got friendly with the useful word “get.” You get to use it whenever you want, unless you must conform to formality.
AudiblePodcast.com/gg

Get a free audiobook when you sign up for a free trial at Audiblepodcast.com/gg. This week I recommend The Elegance12 of the Hedgehog, which has a number of observations about language choices.

Grammar Girl iPhone App

If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can get even more great Grammar Girl audio content in our iPhone app. For a one-time fee of $1.99 you get exclusive weekly bonus tracks. If you go listen right now, the bonus track explains whether band names like Coldplay and the Black Eyed Peas are singular or plural13.

Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier & The Grammar Devotional

This podcast was written by Bonnie Trenga, author of The Curious Case of the Misplaced Modifier, who blogs at sentencesleuth.blogspot.com, and I'm Mignon Fogarty, the author of The Grammar Devotional, 365 bite-size writing tips, fun quizzes and puzzles, and efficient memory tricks-- The Grammar Devotional.

2010 Follow-Up
Finally, thanks to everyone who posted interesting comments about the pronunciation of years in foreign languages. The short answer is that in most foreign languages speakers pronounce the year in some way that represents the full number such as "nineteen hundred ninety-nine" or "one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine." I was interested to learn that in some Asian languages such as Thai and Mandarin14 Chinese speakers pronounce each digit15, so this year would be the equivalent of two-zero-one-zero. Only in a few languages such as Norwegian and Croatian do speakers seem to use a short-cut similar to "twenty-ten."You can read all the comments on last week's transcript16 over at quickanddirtytips.com. They're really interesting.
Also, the poll results had 542 people voting for the pronunciation "twenty-ten," 367 people voting for "two thousand ten," and 223 people saying they would use both pronunciations. So it looks to me as if twenty-ten is the winner.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
2 colloquial ibryG     
adj.口语的,会话的
参考例句:
  • It's hard to understand the colloquial idioms of a foreign language.外语里的口头习语很难懂。
  • They have little acquaintance with colloquial English. 他们对英语会话几乎一窍不通。
3 erased f4adee3fff79c6ddad5b2e45f730006a     
v.擦掉( erase的过去式和过去分词 );抹去;清除
参考例句:
  • He erased the wrong answer and wrote in the right one. 他擦去了错误答案,写上了正确答案。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He removed the dogmatism from politics; he erased the party line. 他根除了政治中的教条主义,消除了政党界限。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 censor GrDz7     
n./vt.审查,审查员;删改
参考例句:
  • The film has not been viewed by the censor.这部影片还未经审查人员审查。
  • The play was banned by the censor.该剧本被查禁了。
5 laud gkxyJ     
n.颂歌;v.赞美
参考例句:
  • Kathy was very pleased to have graduated cum laud in her class.凯西在班上以优等成绩毕业,她为此而非常高兴。
  • We laud him a warmhearted man.我们称赞他是个热心人。
6 tricky 9fCzyd     
adj.狡猾的,奸诈的;(工作等)棘手的,微妙的
参考例句:
  • I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手,你能帮我吗?
  • He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题,只做了个笼统的表述。
7 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
8 stuffy BtZw0     
adj.不透气的,闷热的
参考例句:
  • It's really hot and stuffy in here.这里实在太热太闷了。
  • It was so stuffy in the tent that we could sense the air was heavy with moisture.帐篷里很闷热,我们感到空气都是潮的。
9 technically wqYwV     
adv.专门地,技术上地
参考例句:
  • Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说,这是最先进的设备。
  • The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说,西红柿是一种水果,尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。
10 advertising 1zjzi3     
n.广告业;广告活动 a.广告的;广告业务的
参考例句:
  • Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
  • The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。
11 braces ca4b7fc327bd02465aeaf6e4ce63bfcd     
n.吊带,背带;托架( brace的名词复数 );箍子;括弧;(儿童)牙箍v.支住( brace的第三人称单数 );撑牢;使自己站稳;振作起来
参考例句:
  • The table is shaky because the braces are loose. 这张桌子摇摇晃晃,因为支架全松了。
  • You don't need braces if you're wearing a belt! 要系腰带,就用不着吊带了。
12 elegance QjPzj     
n.优雅;优美,雅致;精致,巧妙
参考例句:
  • The furnishings in the room imparted an air of elegance.这个房间的家具带给这房间一种优雅的气氛。
  • John has been known for his sartorial elegance.约翰因为衣着讲究而出名。
13 plural c2WzP     
n.复数;复数形式;adj.复数的
参考例句:
  • Most plural nouns in English end in's '.英语的复数名词多以s结尾。
  • Here you should use plural pronoun.这里你应该用复数代词。
14 Mandarin TorzdX     
n.中国官话,国语,满清官吏;adj.华丽辞藻的
参考例句:
  • Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
  • Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。
15 digit avKxY     
n.零到九的阿拉伯数字,手指,脚趾
参考例句:
  • Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
  • Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。
16 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   英语语法  Got  Proper  English  英语语法  Got  Proper  English
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴