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Pedants' corner

Getting instead of having.

5 replies

Tubemole1 · 30/09/2013 23:18

I was working in a London Underground Tube station ticket office today and was struck by an invading phrase.

"Can I GET £10 on my Oyster card?
"Can I GET a one week travel card?"

Yes you can get it, but you need to ask if you can HAVE it!

Is this an Americanism borne from British people watching too much Sky Atlantic or something?

(By the way, if anyone wants to correct my grammar, go ahead).

OP posts:
LiberalPedant · 01/10/2013 03:27

Well, "may" would be better and a please would be nice. What exactly is your objection, other than you think it's American?

On other threads, people have pointed out that "get" is used in Scotland, too.

In the context you describe, either is grammatically acceptable in British English as well as North American usage.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines "get" as "come to have; receive."
It defines "have" as: "possess, own, or hold."

So, may I get (receive) £10 on my Oyster card, please?
Or may I have (possess) £10 on my Oyster card, please?

BillyBanter · 01/10/2013 04:06

I went to the shop to have an oyster card.

MirandaGoshawk · 01/10/2013 09:42

Well I'm with you, OP. Last night on Corrie, "Go upstairs and get a shower!"

Whatever happened to 'have a shower', or 'have a coffee'?

Jins · 01/10/2013 09:43

Or grabbing a coffee.

MirandaGoshawk · 01/10/2013 11:53

Grabbing a coffee would lead to spilling a coffee in my case.

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