[pronoun]'ve for possessives

Question

My sister just wrote me, "I've a meeting a noon." The contraction "I've" stuck out. I've always thought the contraction was limited to the perfect tense, and do not recognize it as an indicator of possession.

Is the contraction [pronoun]'ve commonly accepted to mark possession?

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 19 '13 at 10:11

2

Yes and no.

It is used for possession in this sense, but it's less common than "I've got" these days. "I've got" is very common, used as a simple possession marker rather than a perfect tense (i.e. equivalent to "I possess" without implying "I have obtained" as you'd expect from the construction).

On the other hand, it is still used and understood; consider the joke name "Ivor Biggun" (sounds like "I've a big 'un") - the joke wouldn't work unless "I've" is understood as a possession marker.

answered Dec 19 '13 at 10:11

Vince Bowdren

313

This is not quite right. This is the actual answer. – RegDwigнt Dec 19 '13 at 10:13
@RegDwigнt: I'm only speaking from a British English context; I really wouldn't know about American usage. – Vince Bowdren Dec 19 '13 at 10:15
Of course, hence my comment. – RegDwigнt Dec 19 '13 at 10:17

[pronoun]'ve for possessives

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