I`ve got a problem with *have got*

[Nataly B]

Dear friends, I need help!
Situation: I want to tell a person, that I`ve spent a lot of time in subway to arrive to the place of meeting. So my opponent thinks that I can say - *I`ve got here by subway*, but I`m not quite sure, that this form is correct.
Please tell me, if it`s wrong :roll:

 

[Tdol]

It does not sound natural to me- it's not the right verb and it doesn't convey the idea that it took a long time IMO.

 

[Nataly B]

Thank`s. One more question - if I just want to say, that I`ve arrived/it was a subway (nothing about time) - I`ve got here by subway - is correct?

Many thanks)

 

[Raymott]

Thank`s. One more question - if I just want to say, that I`ve arrived/it was a subway (nothing about time) - I`ve got here by subway - is correct?

Many thanks)

"I came on the subway."
Both "I've got here on the subway" and "I got here on the subway" sound strange. But I'd prefer the second if you had to pick one of these. There's no need for the present perfect, just as you would not say, "I've come on the subway."
You are no longer on the subway. It's in the past. Use the past tense.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, you'll hear "I got here on the bus/train/tram" or "I got here ten minutes ago" quite a lot. to get here = to arrive

 

[Tdol]

In BrE, you'll hear "I got here on the bus/train/tram" or "I got here ten minutes ago" quite a lot. to get here = to arrive

But the present perfect would be unusual.

 

[Nataly B]

Dear friends, thanks a lot! It was very important to me :up:

 

[emsr2d2]

But the present perfect would be unusual.

Yes, absolutely agreed. I just wanted to make it clear that "to get somewhere" is perfectly acceptable in BrE.

 

[jordanmichael]

"I came on the subway."
Both "I've got here on the subway" and "I got here on the subway" sound strange. But I'd prefer the second if you had to pick one of these. There's no need for the present perfect, just as you would not say, "I've come on the subway."
You are no longer on the subway. It's in the past. Use the past tense.

"I came on the subway" sounds right to me

 

[euncu]

But the present perfect would be unusual.

Hello,

I'm a bit confused about the answers. I thought when someone tell me that they have come , I take it as they mean they have just come. Dropping the word "just" and using the present perfect, to my opinion , should give us the same idea. Am I right or is my interpretation wrong?

 

[probus]

But the present perfect would be unusual.

Hello,

I'm a bit confused about the answers. I thought when someone tell me that they have come , I take it as they mean they have just come. Dropping the word "just" and using the present perfect, to my opinion , should give us the same idea. Am I right or is my interpretation wrong?

I am afraid such precision of meaning is not available in actual usage. I got here, I've got here, and in AmE I've gotten here, all just mean that I have arrived. None of them says anything about time.

 

[emsr2d2]

Time is not suggested. For example, I went to stay at a hotel for a long weekend (in BrE, that's from Friday until Monday). I arrived at the hotel at 5pm on Friday and at 5.30 someone asked me "How did you get here?" My reply would be "I got the train to Ventnor and then I got the bus". I enjoy a fun weekend and on Sunday afternoon at 3pm, someone else asks me "How did you get here?" My reply would be exactly the same "I got the train to Ventnor and then got the bus". They might then ask "How long have you been here?" and I would say "I got here on Friday afternoon at about 5".

 

[Esprit]

Way back in the 40s and 50s our English teachers always told us to try and not use the word "got" but use another word in its place if possible. I think they were on to something.

 

[Esprit]

I have just spoken to the wife about the use of the word "got" and she, like me was told by her English teacher in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, never use the word "got" but use a more suitable word. My education was in North London.

I do believe that our schooling and especially the use of the English language was far superior than is taught in schools today.

 

[5jj]

I have just spoken to the wife

While you'll often hear 'the wife', many people regard this as disparaging. 'My wife' is the preferred form;

I do believe that our schooling and especially the use of the English language was far superior than is taught in schools today.

People have been saying that for centuries. The language changes and, as we get older, we tend to think of the usages of our grandparents' time as superior to those of our children's time.

 

[Esprit]

Sorry 5jj but I feel that saying "my wife" is demeaning to her, virtually saying that she is my property, rather than an equal. I know "the wife" is incorrect unless one is saying "the wife of so and so" but what other terminology could I use which is more suitable. I know that I do not hear of women talking about "the husband" but use "my husband". I suppose that I am just a little over sensitive about doing an injustice to women.

 

[5jj]

Sorry 5jj but I feel that saying "my wife" is demeaning to her, virtually saying that she is my property, rather than an equal.

Well that's what is natural to most native speakers. A so-called 'possessive' form, such as John's/his/my/etc father/brother/wife/sister/job/university/boss/whatever does not imply possession or property unless the context makes this clear.

What do you say when I would say, "My boss invited my wife and me to dinner last week. We met his wife for the first time. What a bore! She spent the whole evening taking about their children."

 

[Esprit]

"What do you say when I would say, "My boss invited my wife and me to dinner last week".

I would say that it is bad English to say my wife and me, surely it should be my wife and I, but there again, what do I know.

 

[5jj]

"What do you say when I would say, "My boss invited my wife and me to dinner last week".

I would say that it is bad English to say "my wife and me",; surely it should be "my wife and I", but there again, what do I know?.

My wife and I went to the party. Subject
The host greeted my wife and me. Object.

Weren't you the one who wrote "I do believe that our schooling and especially the use of the English language was far superior than is taught in schools today"?

 

[emsr2d2]

"What do you say when I would say, "My boss invited my wife and me to dinner last week".

I would say that it is bad English to say my wife and me, surely it should be my wife and I, but there again, what do I know.

Getting "me" and "I" mixed up seems to be a regular occurrence no matter when one was educated. I learnt a simple rule at school - if you can remove the other party from the equation and it's still correct, then it's correct.

"My boss invited my wife and me to dinner."
Now remove "my wife and". You are left with:
My boss invited me to dinner.
That is, I'm sure you will agree, correct.

My boss invited my wife and I to dinner.
Now remove "my wife and". You are left with:
My boss invited I to dinner.
I am 100% certain you don't think that's correct.