gotten

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From the verb get: (⇒ conjugate)
gotten is: ⓘClick the infinitive to see all available inflections: v past p (Mainly US)

gotten

In American English, gotten is usually the -ed participle of get. It is used to mean ‘obtained’, ‘received’, ‘become’, or ‘caused to be’.

He had gotten his boots out of the closet.

He has gotten something in his eye.

He had gotten very successful since she last saw him.

I had gotten quite a lot of work done that morning.

It is also used in many phrasal verbs and phrases.

He must have gotten up at dawn.

We should have gotten rid of him.

Be careful
Don't use have gotten to mean ‘possess’. For example, don't say ‘I have gotten a headache’ or ‘He has gotten two sisters’.

Be careful
In British English, the -ed participle of get is got, not ‘gotten’.

get

Get is a very common verb which has several different meanings. Its past tense is got. In British English its -ed participle is also got. American speakers also use got, but they usually use gotten as the -ed participle for meanings 1 to 5 below.

➜ See gotten

meaning ‘become’

Get is very often used to mean ‘become’.

The sun shone and I got very hot.

I was getting quite hungry.

➜ See become

used for forming passives

In spoken English and informal writing, you often use get instead of ‘be’ to form passives.

My husband got fired from his job.

Our car gets cleaned about once every two months.

Don't use get to form passives in formal English.

used for describing movement

You use get instead of ‘go’ when you are describing a movement that involves difficulty.

They had to get across the field without being seen.

I don't think we can get over that wall.

Get is also used in front of in, into, on, and out to talk about entering and leaving vehicles and buildings.

I got into my car and drove into town.

I got out of there as fast as possible.

➜ See go into - get into - get on

➜ See go out - get out - get off

‘get to’

When you get to a place, you arrive there.

When we got to the top of the hill we had a rest.

Get to is also used in front of a verb to talk about attitudes, feelings, or knowledge that someone gradually starts to have.

I got to hate the sound of his voice.

I got to know the town really well.

➜ See get to - grow to

transitive uses of ‘get’

If you get something, you obtain or receive it.

He's trying to get a new job.

I got the bike for Christmas.

‘have got’

Got is also used in the expression have got.

➜ See have got

'gotten' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

get - have got

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