[Grammar] I get/got/'ve got/'ve gotten/have it

[NAL123]

When you want to tell someone that you understand something, you might say, "I get/got/'ve got it." But

Q) Do we say "I've gotten it" or "I have it" in place of the above?

I ask this because, in "I get it", clearly, the main verb is "to get", and here, it means "to understand" (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/get), definition #7, but what about the rest? I mean, what is the main verb in "I've got it" or simply "I got it"? Is it "to get", as above, or is it "to have", as in "I have/'ve got/got a car?" (I know that "I got a car" is informal English, and mainly used in the US)

 

[GoesStation]

"I've gotten it" doesn't mean you understand it. In American English, you should say "I get it."

When it means "I have a car," I got a car is an informal way to say "I've got a car". It's not grammatically correct. When it means "I purchased/received a car," it's grammatical English suitable for any register.

 

[emsr2d2]

In BrE, only "I've got it (now)" is used. We don't use "gotten" and I think I'm right in saying that it's not used in AmE to mean "understand". I'm sure an AmE speaker will confirm or refute that.

 

[jutfrank]

When you want to tell someone that you understand something, you might say, "I get/got/'ve got it."

Yes, but I got it is just a slangy way of writing I've got it. The have part is not written because it is elided in casual speech.

Q) Do we say "I've gotten it" or "I have it" in place of the above?

No, you can't use either of those.

I ask this because, in "I get it", clearly, the main verb is "to get", and here, it means "to understand" (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/get), definition #7

Yes, that's all correct.

but what about the rest? I mean, what is the main verb in "I've got it" or simply "I got it"? Is it "to get", as above, or is it "to have", as in "I have/'ve got/got a car?"

I usually tell learners to think of the verb as being have got, which is a special kind of construction. Yes, it's the same as when you say I've got a car, used to talk about possession.

It should be noted, however, that this sense of possession comes primarily from the verb have rather than the verb get since possession is a state. Think of it like this: in order to possess something (have it), you first have to acquire it (get it), so when the sense of get is 'understand', it might make sense to think like this:

I get it = I understand it
I've got it = I've understood it

Practically speaking, though, these both amount to the same meaning.

(Whew! That's confusing but I hope you get what I mean.)

(I know that "I got a car" is informal English, and mainly used in the US)

Like I said before, think of that as a reduction of I've got a car.

 

[NAL123]

I get it = I understand it
I've got it = I've understood it

Is it just a way of thinking? Or does "I've got it" in the OP really mean "I've understood it", and not "I understand it"?

 

[GoesStation]

Is it just a way of thinking?

I don't understand the question.

Or does "I've got it" in the OP really mean "I've understood it", and not "I understand it"?

It means "I understand it." This is "to have got" in the sense of possession, as jutfrank discussed above. Think of it as "I possess the understanding." You can tell this in American English because we use "gotten" when we mean "received".

 

[jutfrank]

I was trying to suggest that I understand it and I've understood it mean effectively the same thing in the particular context we're discussing. I have received the message and am now in a state of understanding.

 

[GoesStation]

I was trying to suggest that I understand it and I've understood it mean effectively the same thing in the particular context we're discussing. I have received the message and am now in a state of understanding.

Perhaps. But what I feel when I say "I've got it" is equivalent to "I understand it." It doesn't feel synonymous with "I've understood it."

 

[jutfrank]

Perhaps. But what I feel when I say "I've got it" is equivalent to "I understand it." It doesn't feel synonymous with "I've understood it."

I may be wrong but I think NAL123 is talking about contexts where someone is trying to explain something to you and you want to say that you have understood what they mean. In that sense I get it means 'I have understood what you're saying' or 'The message that you're trying to communicate has been received', in the way that you or I might simply say Got it. I've perhaps mistakenly been talking about only this very particular context. Of course, you're right, GS, that I get it doesn't always have this particular sense of having received a message. Another thing it can also mean is akin to 'I can understand why ...'

 

[emsr2d2]

For me "Got it" can have three meanings:

1. I've heard you loud and clear.
2. I now understand something (that perhaps I didn't before).
3. Ding! I've had a lightbulb moment (a sudden realisation).

 

[NAL123]

For me "Got it" can have three meanings:

1. I've heard you loud and clear.
2. I now understand something (that perhaps I didn't before).
3. Ding! I've had a lightbulb moment (a sudden realisation).

I think your no. (3) is the same as:

Now, what was his name? Tony? Tom? No, I've got/got/have it! Tim. His name was Tim. (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/I have it)

Am I right?

 

[jutfrank]

That's not quite the same but it's very similar, I'd say.

Your example is different in that it's about accessing stored memory rather than coming to a realisation or understanding. Still, the idea that first you don't have something in mind and then you do, is the same.