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'Gotten' is the American past participle of 'get'; 'got' is the British past participle and the simple past in both varieties.
Side-by-side comparison
"Gotten" is the past participle of "get" in American English. It is used in compound tenses: "I have gotten better". It is very natural in the United States.
Her English has gotten much better since she moved to New York.
The situation has gotten more complicated over the past few weeks.
Have you gotten a chance to review the proposal I sent yesterday?
"Got" is the past participle of "get" in British English. Speakers in the United Kingdom say "I have got better". Both forms are correct in their respective dialects.
I got your message this morning and replied right away.
She got the job after three rounds of interviews.
Have you got any idea where I left my keys? (British English)
Common mistake
- •In American English: "have gotten" implies process or change ("I have gotten better").
- •"Have got" implies current possession ("I have got a car").
- •In British English, "gotten" barely exists: always use "got".
Trick to remember it
- •Process vs snapshot: GOTTEN marks that something CHANGED or PROGRESSED ("has gotten worse/better"). GOT = the instant fact or simple past ("she got the job").
- •Possession? Always GOT, never GOTTEN: "I've got a problem".
- •British English: GOT for everything. GOTTEN doesn't cross the Atlantic.
Quick rule
- •"Gotten" = AmE-only past participle (process/change with have).
- •"Got" = universal simple past + BrE past participle + informal possession.
Did you know?
"Gotten" is not a modern Americanism, it is actually the ORIGINAL form that British English gradually dropped starting in the 18th century. American English preserved the archaic form that the first colonists brought over from 17th-century English. So when British speakers say "gotten" sounds "American," they are describing a form they themselves stopped using 300 years ago.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
"Have you _____ my email?" (American English)
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"Have you _____ my email?" (British English)
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
"Hanged" is used only for executions by hanging; "hung" is the past tense for everything else.
"Proven" is the preferred past participle and adjective in American English; "proved" is the simple past and the BrE past participle.
"Above" is at a higher level without contact; "over" implies covering, movement, or crossing.
'Currently' means 'at the present time'; 'actually' means 'in reality', not 'nowadays'.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy