Gotten

[Unregistered]

In a business context is it proper English to use the word "gotten" ?

Ex: The patient has gotten those supplies before.

 

[banderas]

In a business context is it proper English to use the word "gotten" ?

Ex: The patient has gotten those supplies before.

I would use a more formal word instead of gotten.

 

[daznorthants]

I agree with Banderas - gotten is sloppy and very casual. It would imply little education and I would suggest avoiding it except maybe in a message to a friend.

 

[riverkid]

I agree with Banderas - gotten is sloppy and very casual. It would imply little education and I would suggest avoiding it except maybe in a message to a friend.

I disagree, Daz. While a more formal word could be used, 'gotten', the past participle of 'get', is in common use by educated speakers all over North America. It is often found in print in major newspapers and magazines.

"British Worry That Drinking Has Gotten Out of Hand." NY Times

Barack Obama has gotten past affirmative action. Have we? Slate

 

[David L.]

Avoid the use of 'gotten'.
That instances of its use occur does not give it respectability. Accountants, bank managers, and lawyers commit white collar crimes. If they can commit fraud, should we decriminalize it?

 

[daznorthants]

ok then I stand corrected - but use it carefully this side of the pond. After all I would not wish to disagree with the NY Times.

 

[riverkid]

Avoid the use of 'gotten'.
That instances of its use occur does not give it respectability. Accountants, bank managers, and lawyers commit white collar crimes. If they can commit fraud, should we decriminalize it?

What a compelling argument!

AHD:

§ 144. got / gotten. 3. Word Choice. The American Heritage Book of English Usage. 1996


“There is no such word as gotten,” an irritated reader recently wrote to The Boston Globe Magazine, objecting to the use of the word by a usage commentator, who should have known better. The notion that gotten is illegitimate has been around for over 200 years and refuses to die. The word itself is much older than the criticism against it. As past participles of get, both got and gotten go back to the Middle Ages. In American English, have got is chiefly an intensive form of have in its senses of possession and obligation and can only be used in the present tense. Gotten sees regular use as a variant past participle of get. It can occur in a variety of past and perfect tenses: Had she gotten the car when you saw her? I would not have gotten sick if I had stayed home. In Britain, gotten has mostly fallen out of use.

 

[David L.]

Thank you. I thought that the parallel in logic was telling also.

 

[BobK]

In a business context is it proper English to use the word "gotten" ?

Ex: The patient has gotten those supplies before.

It depends what you mean by 'proper'. As RK has said, 'gotten' is in common in the USA - even, maybe (RK?) in quite formal contexts; it was a feature of the English spoken by the Plymouth Brethren (the verb get having the past participle gotten).

It would be ridiculous - and untenable - to call US English improper. It is true, though, that in British English 'gotten' is not widely accepted in formal contexts.

b

 

[banderas]

It would be ridiculous - and untenable - to call US English improper.
b

Yes, there is no "proper or improper" answer. "Gotten" is just informal and as BobK said:
"It is true, though, that in British English 'gotten' is not widely accepted in formal contexts".;-) By the way, I am not sure if in Amercian English "gotten" is widely accepted in formal contexts (in business conexts). Is it?

 

[riverkid]

Yes, there is no "proper or improper" answer. "Gotten" is just informal and as BobK said:
"It is true, though, that in British English 'gotten' is not widely accepted in formal contexts".;-) By the way, I am not sure if in Amercian English "gotten" is widely accepted in formal contexts (in business conexts). Is it?

Except for the most formal aspects of business, ie. letter writing, the standard of formality is much different than in Britain. Of course, first contacts have a greater measure of deference but a great deal of business is done in everyday informal, even casual language.

Just by way of example, a quick example, 'has & have gotten' in Hansard for Canada showed over 200 examples each.