American English – Difference Between ‘Gotten’ and ‘Got’ in Past Participles and Present Perfect

american-englishdialectpast-participlespresent-perfect

When in a sentence I want to use the present perfect of get, I say have/has gotten.
A friend of mine (who is American) corrects me, saying I should use have/has got. From my English classes, I remember that the past participle of get is gotten.

Why does my friend tell me that it is not correct to use have gotten?

If that makes any difference, my friend lives on the east coast, closer to the New England zone.

Best Answer

The Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol 6, confirming what Barrie England wrote in his answer, says:

In tracing the history of American grammar, it is important to note that in many instances what might seem to have been a change in American English compared with the standard English of Great Britain is in fact no change at all - it is British English that has changed, not American. For example, eighteenth-century speakers of English generally formed the past participle of get 'receive' as gotten, as in Your brother has gotten my mail. In the nineteenth century, prestigious speakers in England began to drop the -en ending: Your brother has got my mail. Most Americans, however, continued using the older form gotten.

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