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According to Michael Swan and Catherine Walter in their Oxford English Grammar Course (2011) 'Got-forms are not generally used to talk about habits and repeated actions'. But I can't get rid of the feeling that I have come across the usage of got-forms with school subjects though can't cite the excerpts here.

So, is this usage common in English and if so, is it grammatically correct?

CowperKettle
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Yukatan
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    In my American English, that's fine for informal speech. (Though I would say math instead of maths, being American.) – user8399 Apr 25 '15 at 16:29
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    I think this could be considered to be short for "I've got Maths [on my schedule] twice a week". – Jeremy Nottingham Apr 25 '15 at 19:04
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    Okay, so the book says not generally. You have one example that represents an exception (talking about a schedule). –  Apr 25 '15 at 19:53
  • Fascinating that "I've got Math this semester" sounds fine, but any attempt to negate the statement while keeping the 'got' sounds wrong. ("I've not got Math..." "I haven't got Math...") A correct negative form could be "I don't have Math..." – default.kramer Apr 26 '15 at 03:19
  • @JeremyNottingham where could I find the reference to the use of got-forms for schedules? – Yukatan Apr 26 '15 at 07:00
  • @pazzo where could I find the reference to the use of got-forms for schedules? – Yukatan Apr 26 '15 at 07:00
  • @default.kramer "I haven't got maths today, the lecturer's I'll." – jimsug Apr 26 '15 at 12:59
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    I wouldn't think of this as referring to a regular activity, I would think of it as a possessive use of "have got". "I've got a pencil [in my pocket].", "I've got Professor Brown this semester [in my maths class].' – Jeremy Nottingham Apr 26 '15 at 19:41
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    "This semester I haven't got any maths classes." – Jeremy Nottingham Apr 26 '15 at 19:43

3 Answers3

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I have got Math(s) twice a week.

The sentence is grammatically incorrect.

The phrase "have got" is mainly used in the sense of "have" when you talk about a possession, relationship, situation, or state, but not when you are talking about an action or event. You can say I have/have got a car, but you cannot say I have got a bath every morning.

the verb "have" in the sentence in question is indicative of an action. So you cannot say "I have got Math(s) twice a week. Instead, the correct sentence is:

I have Math twice a week.

Khan
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It may be gramatically incorrect, but it will make you sound more like a native English speaker: "I've got maths twice a week", "I've got a meeting in 10 minutes" etc.

Steve Ives
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It's definitely a very common way of expressing it, and I would say it is grammatically correct.

You could say "I have Maths twice a week" - so what's the difference?

I considered a number of examples, and I think that the word "got" adds something. It gives a sense of having received or having been allocated something. It provides emphasis to the statement, and may have either negative or positive connotations.

The statement "I have Maths twice a week" by itself is quite neutral, whereas "I've got Maths twice a week" is more emphatic. Depending on how one feels about Maths, the added "got" may give the impression of this being some foul punishment from the powers-that-be, or an exciting opportunity to learn the wonders of Calculus.

xtempore
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