this post was submitted on 08 Dec 2023
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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English is weird (lemmy.world)
submitted 11 months ago by Anonymouse@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
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I got hung up on contractions this morning regarding the word "you've". Normally, I'd say "you've got a problem", which expands to "you have got a problem", which isn't wrong, but I normally wouldn't say. Not contracting, I'd say "you have a problem", so then should I just say "you've a problem"? That sounds weird in my head. Is this just a US English problem?

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[โ€“] guy@lemmy.world 100 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

In the sentence "you have a problem", "have" is the main verb. When reduced to the clitic "'ve", it becomes a weak form and is only expected to be used as an auxiliary verb. These types of verbs must be followed by the main verb. "a" is not a verb. Thus, we insert "got".

If we do not insert "got", the stress in the sentence moves and it sounds overly affected.

I'm not too sure, but I think "be" ("is", "are") is the only verb that can be contracted and still remain a main verb. I'm not too sure why.

[โ€“] reddig33@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

๐Ÿ† Award for well thought out and educational answer!

[โ€“] UndercoverGranny@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago

I can't find the clitic.

[โ€“] rhythmisaprancer@kbin.social 7 points 11 months ago

To add to this, "have got" is perfect tense. "You're a man" is different because "are" isn't an auxiliary verb here, it is just added to "you" as a contraction. That phrase would probably be an existential clause.

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