get, got or have got?

Hello, teachers.

If you understand something, which of the following is/are appropriate to utter?

1. I get it!
2. I got it!
3. I've got it!

If more than one of the expressions above is appropriate, is there any difference in meaning?

Thank you very much in advance for your help on this.

yam.

1. I get it! Present Simple
2. I got it! short for I have got it
3. I've got it!
They have the same meaning. They are used to say that someone gets the meaning of something, understands something or obtains something. You just need to pick the one that fits with the tense of the sentence.

yamyam said:

Hello, teachers.

If you understand something, which of the following is/are appropriate to utter?

1. I get it!
2. I got it!
3. I've got it!

If more than one of the expressions above is appropriate, is there any difference in meaning?

Thank you very much in advance for your help on this.

yam.

Click to expand...

They're all OK, but of the three in AmE, #2 might more often be heard as "Got it" for general understanding, whereas "I get it" would more likely be a reaction to another person's joke.

nedira said:

2. I got it! short for I have got it.

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I don't agree that this is necessarily the case. It's simpler to assume that the speaker used the past tense.

Thank you so much for the instructions, Ms. nedira, Mr.(?) billmcd and Mr. 5jj.
I think "I've got it." is the safest expression for "I see it," right?

Thanks again,
yam.

You say "I got it!" if you're playing baseball and are planning to catch a fly ball and want to warn the other players on your team not to crash into you while they also try to catch the same ball.

By extension, you can also say "I got it" to announce to the group that you are in charge of a certain task or assignment.

"We need someone to check these figures before the meeting."

"I got it."

"I've got it!" is also commonly used in AmE as an exclamation when you're trying to come up with an idea, a solution to a problem, etc. and you suddenly think of the perfect answer. For example:

John was trying to figure out a puzzle in a book. After several minutes of thinking, he jumped up and yelled, "I've got it!"

yamyam said:

I think "I've got it." is the safest expression for "I see it," right?

Click to expand...

By "I see it," do you mean "I understand it"? If so, then I would say no to your question.

Where I'm from in the USA, we typically use I get it (present tense) to mean that we understand something like a joke, or a concept. Got it (without the pronoun) is also used, but in my experience it's usually a brief response to a smaller or short term thing, like instructions for how to do something.

I got it (simple past) is used less frequently, often to emphasize the fact, e.g. I got it, I got it! Don't explain it again!

Finally, I agree with Free ToyInside that I've got it is most often used as a spontaneous response to finding a solution for something, and with Nedira that I got it is sometimes used as a non-standard, shortened version of this.

Again, this is native speaker usage from the western USA, so I can't speak for all... ;-)

mayita1usa said:

Finally, I agree with Free ToyInside that I've got it is most often used as a spontaneous response to finding a solution for something, and with Nedira that I got it is sometimes used as a non-standard, shortened version of this.

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How can you be sure that it's a 'shortened' version of I've got and not a (possibly non-standard) use of the past tense?

yamyam said:

Thank you so much for the instructions, Ms. nedira, Mr.(?) billmcd and Mr. 5jj.
I think "I've got it." is the safest expression for "I see it," right?

Thanks again,
yam.

Click to expand...

"I see" can also be for understanding, but without "it".

I would add that, in AmE at least, the most common difference between present/past tense "get it/got it" would be:
**I get it: I understand, I understand what you explained to me and I didn't before now OR I understand your joke.
**got it: Acknowledging that you heard and noted information someone just gave you, like a waiter taking somebody's order, or a telephone operator entering your name and telephone number into the computer.
**I got it: with the "I", the "got" is usually stressed most, and it strongly confirms the same information "got it" does, but usually in response to you being accused of not paying attention or listening, like

Mom: I asked you to please take out the trash before bed, please do it now.
Son: ----
Mom: Did you hear me?!
Son: Yes! I got it!

Another good one, very common in AmE is "you got it," used to very nicely tell somebody that you can do what they request of you, as in:

Person A: Can you bring me a glass of water?
Person B: You got it.

Customer: Can I get some extra dressing on my salad?
Waiter: Yeah, you got it!

It's informal, the meaning is the same as certainly or of course, and shows that their request is not a problem at all.

(not a teacher, just a language lover)

5jj said:

How can you be sure that it's a 'shortened' version of I've got and not a (possibly non-standard) use of the past tense?

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I don't know that you always can, or even that it's necessary to; however, because I got it is often used in situations where the present perfect I've got it would be appropriate, I included both possibilities in my response.

FreeToyInside said:

I would add that, in AmE at least, the most common difference between present/past tense "get it/got it" would be:
**I get it: I understand, I understand what you explained to me and I didn't before now OR I understand your joke.
**got it: Acknowledging that you heard and noted information someone just gave you, like a waiter taking somebody's order, or a telephone operator entering your name and telephone number into the computer.

Click to expand...

Which leads to the old standard: "Get it?" "Got it!" "Good!" (Usually said all at once by the same person, at least around here!) :lol:

Thank you very much for the correction, Mr. billmcd.

yam:-D