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I have a friend from a foreign country who for years has used "I've" in a way that sounds funny to me. He often writes sentences like "I've an exam tomorrow." Is he correct in this usage?

I have always used "I've" but only when speaking in the past. For example: "I've never seen someone like that." Basically, I don't use "have" as the lone verb in the sentence. Thanks!

dimholte
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  • I'll not make this an answer, as I've not the sources to back it up, but in my experience as a native AmE speaker, that type of contraction seems British to me, or at least non-AmE. You'll find similar examples in the past tense and with "will," as I've noted. The usage is certainly correct; I believe it's just a dialectal preference, but that's only an observational guess. – Justin Greer Oct 15 '14 at 14:21
  • Apparently this has already been asked: Is it appropriate to use short form of "have" ('ve) when it means possession? – Justin Greer Oct 15 '14 at 14:23
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    So you would never say "I've got ten dollars in my pocket"? (I know that's not grammatical (for different reasons than this question talks about), but it's common). – Flimzy Oct 15 '14 at 15:06
  • The title of your question is imprecise. What do you mean by "I've by itself"? "I've a new car", "I've an exam coming up" - it is not "by itself", it sits in a sentence and certainly has words around it !!! – Blessed Geek Oct 15 '14 at 15:13
  • Actually, I say that all the time. I suppose that's because I consider "got" the main verb of the sentence, so the "have" doesn't carry much meaning. But if the "got" drops off, I usually say "I have" rather than "I've." Bear in mind that I do sometimes contract "have" and "will" in the manner you've described, but most of the time I don't. – Justin Greer Oct 15 '14 at 15:16
  • When someone asks, "Have you got a moment?" and you answer, "I've", then that is "by itself". And then only under such circumstances warrants a question about the oddness. – Blessed Geek Oct 15 '14 at 15:17
  • Also, and this is perhaps just tangential, but I recently noticed that all the dialogue in the videogame Bravely Default for the Nintendo 3DS uses the contracted form, without exception, no matter the characters. Seems like the writer(s) for the game find that usage normal. – Justin Greer Oct 15 '14 at 15:18
  • @BlessedGeek Yes, the title is imprecise, and could stand to be reworded, but the text of the question itself clarifies OP's intent nicely. – Justin Greer Oct 15 '14 at 15:19
  • The situation you depict does not warrant a question on this forum. It surprises me that you would even ask a question for the situation you depict because I've been using "I've a car in the driveway", "I've a knife in my pocket", "I've an exam tomorrow". Which provincial corner/nutshell of the USA are you living in? – Blessed Geek Oct 15 '14 at 15:20
  • I assume you're addressing dimholte with your questions, @BlessedGeek? – Justin Greer Oct 15 '14 at 15:30
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    @BlessedGeek: Are you aware that whole generations in Europe have learned to use got in every example sentence you just mentioned? Because according to our teachers, that was "correct English". There are also plenty of Americans who will use got in those sentences, and leaving it out will sounds positively outlandish to many speakers, so I believe the question is certainly warranted, notwithstanding your specific usage. – oerkelens Oct 15 '14 at 15:31
  • "I've got ...." is colloquial/informal English. It is "correct" but not acceptable in formal technical manuals. – Blessed Geek Oct 15 '14 at 15:56
  • It is annoying that continental Europeans are developing their own pidgin English. e.g. mis-aligning gerunds and sorts, lay-outing instead of laying-out, passer-bys instead of passers-by. Do they even teach these as "valid English" in schools? – Blessed Geek Oct 15 '14 at 16:07

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