Sasha
Professional Teacher
What does the phase "What do you got going on?" mean? Is it grammatically correct? Why "do" is used in this phrase not "have" for example? Why "got" not "get"? The context is this: Dude, I'm a single man. Saturday night is my party night. Really? What do you got going on? I don't know, maybe drive down to Hollywood, hit a few hot spots, see if I can get lucky.
Feb 17, 2013 4:34 PM
Answers · 8
2
Sasha, The present perfect "have got" can be substituted for many of the senses of the verb "have" in the present tense. For example, I have a pen. = I have got a pen. I have to leave now. = I have got to leave now. What do you have going on? = What have you got going on? This doesn't make logical sense but it is good grammar. This usage is idiomatic. It is very common in spoken English to drop the auxiliary "have" from "have not". The result is that the past participle "got" is used as the equal of present tense "have". I have got a pen. = I got a pen. = I have a pen. I have got to leave. = I got to leave. = I have to leave. What have you got going on? = What do you got going on? = What do you have going on? --or-- Have you got a pen? = Do you got a pen? = Do you have a pen? Since the past participle "got" is considered present tense in this construction, "got" also takes the auxiliary "do" in a question. What you are hearing in the Big Band Theory is not really illiterate --it is highly developed slang.
February 17, 2013
2
Sasha. Hello. How are you? It is a terrible grammar. A proper grammar would be as follows: "What do you HAVE going on?" You might also say; "What do you have planned for Saturday night?" ---Warm Regards, Bruce
February 17, 2013
1
No - that is not grammatically correct. Where is the text from? Not everyone talks in a grammatically correct way! You could say 'What have you got going on?', or, 'What do you have going on?'
February 17, 2013
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