Re: USAGE: gotten

Tristan McLeay nevesht:
>
>I was just installing Windows XP today and happened to notice that it
>said 'If you've had a computer before, you've probably GOTTEN things the
>way you like it', or some-such like that (the actual wording isn't
>important, 'gotten' there is being used in the same way as it was on the
>banner).
>
>'Gotten' there seems wrong to me (and my younger brother, who generally
>speaks more Americanly than I do). Is that some usage of 'gotten' that
>hasn't (yet) passed into Australian English, or is it ungrammatical in
>the US too and just somehow managed to slip through?
>
>(My brother suggested that 'gotten' is used more to mean 'received',
>although 'I've gotten it' sounds wrong to me, too... I never (rarely)
>use 'gotten'; my younger brother does.)
>
>Tristan
In this case, I'd say that it is grammatical, for me, at least. "To have
gotten sth. the way you like it" means you have adjusted things to your
satisfaction, "to have sth. the way you like it" doesn't necessarily imply
any adjustment, it be just out the box and didn't need adjusting.

-Wayne Chevrier


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