More than once I heard "What do you got?" in the American TV dramas.
Some black people like to use "I ain't..." or "He don't...", obviously they are making things easy without considering the single or multiple problem.
But I am not sure what is the grammar of this mixed tense sentence. Does it mean "What do you have?" or "What have you got?" Does the speaker mean the present or the past?
Is "What do you got?" correct?
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Josef Essberger
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Re: Is "What do you got?" correct?
Your two sentences mean the same:SourRiceNoodle wrote: ↑April 12th, 2025, 2:44 am More than once I heard "What do you got?" in the American TV dramas.
Some black people like to use "I ain't..." or "He don't...", obviously they are making things easy without considering the single or multiple problem.
But I am not sure what is the grammar of this mixed tense sentence. Does it mean "What do you have?" or "What have you got?" Does the speaker mean the present or the past?
What do you have?
What have you got?
One is more British and the other more American, but they are both possible in both language varieties.
English Prepositions List by Josef Essberger
Extremely useful ebook full of examples and visual aids to learn prepositions Inés Barbero
Extremely useful ebook full of examples and visual aids to learn prepositions
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Sicks1956
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Re: Is "What do you got?" correct?
Yeah, I’ve noticed that too, especially in TV shows or movies. “What do you got?” is very informal and mostly used in spoken American English. Technically, it’s not standard grammar, but people say it all the time. It basically means “What do you have?” or “What have you got?” — so yes, it refers to the present, not the past.