--- "Mark J. Reed" <markjreed@...> wrote:
> On 6/23/06, daniel prohaska
> <danielprohaska@...> wrote:
> > I always thought the form <gotten> you USE
> speakers use in <I have gotten>
> > was cutely quaint.
>
> The odd thing about that is that it's only used in
> the full form "I
> have gotten" or "I've gotten"; the idiomatic
> reduction is "I got", not
> *"I gotten".
One of the differences that has always intrigued me is
the way contractions are applied to "I have not...".
In the Western Lands that becomes "I haven't..." while
those curious Brits render it "I've not...". Perhaps
we need to put our heads together and agree to make it
"I'v'nt...".
--gary