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I see this usage frequently on various SE sites:

I've an [object]

This usage of "I've" seems very strange [edit: archaic or poetic] to me as a native speaker of US English. I'm accustomed to only creating contractions of "have" where "have" is an auxilliary verb, e.g.

I've gone

In informal US English, you will often even see the redundant usage

I've got an [object]

Although this could also be parsed in a non-redundant way, as "I have [obtained]."

I don't see the first usage much in contemporary British English, either. It seems to be limited to non-native English speakers.

Is the first usage being taught, or is it an example of overgeneralization? Is it strictly wrong, or is it just unusual? [edit: Given the examples in some of the answers, perhaps it's coming back into vogue. I still feel like I should be speaking in a British accent and wearing a monocle when I say it.]

Kevin Krumwiede
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  • I've a _NOUN is well attested, though less often used than I have a _NOUN or I've got a _NOUN. "I've an apple left over from lunch, if you're hungry." – TimR Jan 13 '15 at 22:02
  • @TRomano I'm not looking to get into a discussion about descriptive vs. prescriptive linguistics, but can you be more specific about where it's attested, and whether it's considered "correct"? – Kevin Krumwiede Jan 13 '15 at 22:08
  • It is idiomatic: i.e. native speakers say it. I see no reason why it would be thought incorrect, since it's merely a contracted form. – TimR Jan 13 '15 at 22:10
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    In American English, have meaning 'possess' doesn't contract, either with subjects (I've a Swiss bank account) or with negatives (I haven't a Swiss bank account). This is in contrast to auxiliary have, which is always contracted except for emphasis. Another reason American English has got for not contracting 'possess' have is that we can already contract have got, with the same meaning. – John Lawler Jan 13 '15 at 22:22
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    Do you find it jarring even in cases like “I’ve no idea/clue”? Those sound, to me, more passable in AmE than other contexts. It is perfectly common to contract in BrE in general, though I have a feeling it’s on the wane and starting to become a bit old-fashioned and posh-sounding. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Jan 13 '15 at 22:30
  • @JohnLawler what about with feelings you aren't in Kansas anymore? – Jon Hanna Jan 13 '15 at 22:41
  • The actual line in the movie is "I have a feeling we're not in Kansas any more." I have a feeling is not contracted, it's pronounced (normally) as /ayəvə'fiɪŋ/ – John Lawler Jan 13 '15 at 22:54
  • @JohnLawler it sounds like "I've" to me, but if I've been biased by things like Ethan Mordden's and others repeatedly misquoting those misquotes stand as evidence that "I've a feeling" is commonly contracted in themselves. – Jon Hanna Jan 13 '15 at 23:40
  • @John Lawler: I hear contracted I've (meaning 'to possess') in my neck of the woods here in Delaware County PA (near Philadelphia) and I often use it myself that way. I wonder if there are pockets where it does have some currency. This county had a fairly large Irish population, and half my family is Irish, if that might account for it. – TimR Jan 13 '15 at 23:44

2 Answers2

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It seems to be limited to non-native English speakers.

UK:

That my date is near out, I've a short time to live. — The Universal Magazine, 1781.

UK:

I've a rich liq'rish old wife for any poor rake

I've a plaice for a courtier, for jokers I've grigs; — Charles Dibdin, (published 1848, but Dibdin died 1814 so this is clearly posthumous).

UK:

"It's come to me — I've a right to keep it." — George Eliot, Silas Marner, 1861

US:

I've a notion the best we could do, would be to return to the blockhouse for the present. — Charles Sealsfield, Life in the New World, Or, Sketches of American Society, 1844.

It's certainly not a recent thing, nor restricted to non-natives. (Sealsfield was born in Moravia, but he's quoting an American speaker).

It could of course be something that was once usual, that died out since, as after all people contracted things in the 19th century and earlier that we don't today.

US:

I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. — Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson & Edgar Allan Woolf, The Wizard of Oz, 1939

US:

But I’ve a third confession — Robert Zaretsky, "Hubris and Envy: The Lehrer Affair, 2012.

UK:

If you're thinking of starting something…I've a good mind to smack your bare bottom. — Tom Stoppard, Parade's End (from the novel by Ford Maddox Ford).

UK:

I've a feeling I'm going to have to stop in a minute. — Tom Stoppard, "Indian Ink", 1995.

Stoppard is hardly an imprecise writer.

Is the first usage being taught,

Maybe, but if it isn't it'll be picked up anyway.

or is it an example of overgeneralization?

No.

Is it strictly wrong,

No.

or is it just unusual?

No.

Community
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Jon Hanna
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    While it may be acceptable, it does sound odd to AmE ears (certainly mine) to say I've an apple. – Paul Senzee Jan 14 '15 at 02:21
  • +1 for "I've a good mind..." Seems I've heard this expression in a movie, but can't recall whether the actress was British or American. – pazzo Jan 14 '15 at 10:50
  • @CarSmack I'm sure you'd be able to find it in plenty from each. – Jon Hanna Jan 14 '15 at 10:54
  • @PaulSenzee oh, I've no doubt that plenty of AmE dialects avoid contracting in that case, but there are plenty that don't as can be seen. – Jon Hanna Jan 14 '15 at 10:55
  • What is your source for the quote from Wizard of Oz? I found a "script" that had been transcribed by ear from the movie. – pazzo Jan 14 '15 at 11:00
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    @CarSmack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIaN9Koa9oM. Also as quoted several places including as use for a book title (an American book, so if they changed I have to I've that'd count as an example in itself). – Jon Hanna Jan 14 '15 at 11:04
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I've no idea why it should sound strange.

Very often 'got' is, to my ears, redundant -

I've got a book you might like.

Really?

Dan
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