Got or Gotten | Difference, Meaning & Examples
Knowing whether got or gotten is correct can be tricky because American and British speakers use these words differently, and both words often combine with “have,” but in different contexts.
Quillbot’s free Grammar Checker will instantly tell you whether “got” or “gotten” is the word you need for your specific context in your variety of English.
- Gotten is the past participle of the verb “get” in American English (e.g., “I’ve gotten a lot of questions about that recently”).
- Got is the simple past tense form of the verb “get” in US and UK English (E.g., “I got a few questions about that last week”).
- Got is also part of the phrase “have got”—which is an informal way of saying “have” (e.g., “I’ve got some questions for you”).
- Have got to is a phrasal modal verb (aka “semi-modal verb”) meaning “have to”/“must” (e.g., “I’ve got to prepare some questions for the quiz”)
Gotten
In American English, the past participle of the verb “got” is “gotten,” but in British English and many other varieties of English, it’s much more common to use “got” as the past participle.
Have you gotten/got to know each other well?
We haven’t gotten/got to know each other well.
“Have got” is an informal way of saying “have” in both American and British English (e.g., “I’ve got a friend in New York”), although it’s more common in British English.
Here, the correct word is always “got,” not “gotten.”
How many bikes have you got? [Have you got = do you have]
She’s got a cold. [She’s got = she has]
Has she got a cold? [Has she got = does she have]
I haven’t got a cold [Haven’t got = don’t have]
- I normally just have got a sandwich for lunch when I’m at the office.
- We went to the lake and had got a swim.
When “have” is an auxiliary verb, you can’t replace it with have got.
- We have got been studying that in history.
- You should have got learned that in history.
Got vs gotten
This table compares sentences featuring “have got” (meaning “have”) with sentences featuring “gotten” as the past participle of “get.”
| Sentence with gotten | Sentence with got |
|---|---|
| I’ve gotten lots of emails from the school recently. [Meaning: I have received … (Past participle of “get”)] | I’ve got about 2,000 unread emails in my inbox. [Meaning: I have about 2,000 … (have = possess)] |
| Have you gotten an email from the school about the trip to the zoo? [Meaning: Have you received … (Past participle of “get”)] | Have you got the teacher’s email address? [Meaning: Do you have … ?] |
| I haven’t gotten an email about that trip. [Meaning: I haven’t received … (Past participle of “get”)] | I haven’t got that email in my inbox. [Meaning: I don’t have … ] |
| It’s gotten a lot colder in the last few days. [Meaning: It’s become … (Past participle of “get”)] | She’s got a cold, so she’s not coming. [Meaning: She has …] |
| You should have gotten more bread. [Meaning: You should have obtained/bought … (Past participle of “get”)] | We’ve got plenty of bread. [Meaning: We have …] |
Have got to
You use got, not gotten, in the phrasal modal verb “have got to,” which expresses obligation or necessity and is used in informal contexts as an alternative to “have to.”
You’ve got to try that new taco place; it’s fantastic.
In very casual US English, people sometimes say “gotta” instead of “got to” and leave out the “have” (e.g., “You really gotta try it”).
However, in British English, “have got to” is sometimes used in questions and negative statements if you want to emphasize the (lack of) obligation or necessity by stressing the word “got.”
- Child: Have I really got to come with you?
- Parent: No, you haven’t got to come with us, but I’m sure your grandparents would love to see you.
Got
The past simple form of the verb “get” is got in both US and UK English.
Fatima got a cold when she was on the ski trip.
I got some nice nectarines from the fruit stand yesterday.
His dad works at the amusement park, so we got to go on some of the rides for free.
Frequently asked questions about got or gotten
- What does gotta mean?
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The word gotta is an informal, spoken form of the phrasal modal verb “have got to” (e.g., “You’ve gotta see this movie; you’ll love it,” “I gotta ask you something”).
Deciding if got or gotten is the right word can be tricky—“gotten” is the past participle of the verb “get” in US English, but “got” isn’t just used as the simple past tense form of “get,” it’s also part of the phrase “have got,” meaning “have,” and the phrasal modal verb “have got to.”
QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you with definitions of words like “gotta.”
- Is gotten a word?
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Yes, gotten is a word. It’s the past participle of the verb “get” in American English (e.g., “The weather has gotten better,” “Have you really gotten that impression?”).
Deciding if got or gotten is the word you need can be difficult because “got” isn’t just the simple past tense of “get.” It’s also part of the phrase “have got to” meaning “have to/must,” and “have got,” meaning “have.”
QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you to understand words you’re not familiar with like “gotten.”
- What does you got this mean?
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You say you got this to someone when you want to encourage them; it means “You can do it!” (e.g., “Come on—just one more length of the pool; you got this!).
In this phrase, “got” means “have got,” so it’s always got not gotten.
QuillBot’s free AI Chat can help you to understand colloquial phrases like “you got this.”
