Verb & Preposition Usage (US)

You say to your friend, “I’ve gotten so much better at this game,” and they shrug. Sounds normal.

Then you see a comment online: “It’s got, not gotten. Americans can’t speak properly.”

Now you’re wondering if every English teacher you’ve ever had has been lying to you.

Here’s the deal: got and gotten, dived and dove, at the weekend and on the weekend — these aren’t “right vs wrong.” They’re mostly US English vs UK English, plus a few style choices on top. If you’re in the US school system, doing US exams, or mostly talking to Americans, it makes sense to know what sounds natural here — and what looks like it’s wandered in from a British textbook.

Nobody’s born knowing this stuff. You pick it up in bits and pieces, and that’s why it can feel messy. Let’s tidy it up.

Before you read on, here’s where we’re heading. By the end you’ll be able to: - Use got and gotten in a way that sounds natural in US English. - Choose between dived and dove without guessing. - Use US‑style prepositions like on the weekend and on the team with confidence. - Spot when a phrase sounds more British than American — and decide whether to switch.

Beginner (Foundation)

Let’s keep this simple at first. You want to know: what’s okay to say and write in American English so you don’t get marked wrong or side‑eyed?

1. “Get”: got vs gotten

In US English, both “got” and “gotten” are real words. They just do different jobs.

Think about three forms:

• Present: I get
• Simple past: I got
• Past participle (with have/has/had): I have gotten

You already use this pattern with other verbs:

• I eat → I ate → I’ve eaten
• I write → I wrote → I’ve written

For get in US English:

• “Yesterday I got a new game.” (simple past)
• “I’ve gotten better at this game.” (with have)

Now, there’s one special thing: in American English, we often use “have got” to mean just “have”:

• “I’ve got a dog.” = I have a dog.
• “She’s got three brothers.” = She has three brothers.

In that meaning (just “have”), we don’t use “gotten”:

• “I’ve gotten a dog.” = I received or got a dog (recently).
• “I’ve got a dog.” = I own a dog.

So:

• Talking about owning/having something right now? → “I’ve got a dog.”
• Talking about getting/becoming something? → “I’ve gotten better / taller / more homework.”

2. “Dive”: dived vs dove

“Dive” is one of those verbs with two accepted past forms in US English.

• Dived – older form; sounds a bit more formal.
• Dove – very common in American speech and stories.

Both are correct. Examples:

• “She dove into the pool.” (very natural in US speech)
• “She dived into the pool.” (also correct, a bit more formal)

Most American teachers will accept either. You might be told “dove” sounds casual and “dived” sounds a bit more textbook. In everyday talking, you’ll hear “dove” all the time.

3. “On the weekend” and “on the team”

Prepositions — those little words like on, in, at — are some of the clearest differences between US and UK English.

For weekends:

• In US English:
• “What are you doing on the weekend?”
• “I usually sleep in on the weekend.”
• Also very common: “What are you doing this weekend?”
• In UK English, you’ll hear:
• “What are you doing at the weekend?”

For teams:

• In US English:
• “I’m on the basketball team.”
• “She’s on the debate team.”
• In UK English, people often say:
• “I’m in the basketball team.”

If you’re in school in the US and writing for US teachers, “on the weekend” and “on the team” are the natural choices.

Common Mistake:
Writing “I’ve gotten a dog for three years.”
That sounds like you kept getting a new dog for three years. What you mean is “I’ve had a dog for three years.”

Pro-Tip:
Quick memory trick for American school English:
- You’re on the bus, on a team, on the weekend.
- You’re in class, in school, in the cafeteria.

Quick recap: - In US English, got and gotten are both real: “got” = simple past; “gotten” = “have” form. - Use “got” for having something; “gotten” for becoming/receiving something. - “Dived” and “dove” are both correct; “dove” is very common in US speech. - In US English, say on the weekend and on the team.

Intermediate (Development)

Now let’s plug these into real‑world sentences — the kind you actually write in homework, emails to teachers, and stories.

1. Got vs gotten inside real sentences

Once you add have / has / had, the difference between “got” and “gotten” gets clearer.

In US English:

• Have/has got = basically have / has (possession or needing to do something)
• Have/has gotten = change or receiving something

Possession / state:

• “I’ve got three projects due this week.” = I have them.
• “She’s got a new phone.” = She has one.

Change / receiving:

• “I’ve gotten better at writing essays.” = I’ve become better.
• “He’s gotten a new phone.” = He received/bought one.
• “We’ve gotten a lot of homework this week.” = We received it.

Obligation:

• “I’ve got to finish this by Friday.” = I have to finish this.
  In more formal writing, we usually prefer “I have to finish this by Friday.”

Common Mistake:
Writing “I’ve got to improve my grades” in a serious essay.
It’s not wrong, but “I have to improve my grades” sounds more formal and polished.

2. “Dived” vs “dove”: which one when?

Here’s a good way to think about it in American English:

• Speaking and casual writing (texts, stories, journal):
• “I dove into bed as soon as I got home.”
• “He dove for the ball.”
• Formal writing (science reports, exams, anything your strict teacher marks):
• “The swimmer dived into the pool.”
• “The dolphin dived to the bottom.”

Most teachers care more that you’re consistent than which one you pick. What bothers them is switching around for no reason:

• Less good: “She dove into the pool and later dived again.”
• Better: “She dove … and later dove again.”
  or: “She dived … and later dived again.”

3. Prepositions with time: on, in, at

“On the weekend” fits into a bigger American pattern:

• on + days and dates
• on Monday, on Friday night, on my birthday, on the 4th of July, on the weekend
• in + months, years, longer periods
• in March, in 2025, in summer, in the 1990s
• at + clock time and a few fixed phrases
• at 7:30, at noon, at midnight, at night

So:

• “We’re going to my cousin’s on the weekend.”
• “We’re leaving on Saturday.”
• “We’re going in July, in the summer.”
• “We’ll leave at 9:00.”

In US English, we treat weekend like a day — that’s why we use on.

4. Prepositions with groups: on the team, in the class

Prepositions also show how you’re connected to a group:

• We usually say in for classes and groups you sit in:
• “I’m in Ms. Rivera’s English class.”
• “He’s in band.”
• “We’re in the same study group.”
• We usually say on for teams and official groups:
• “I’m on the soccer team.”
• “She’s on student council.”
• “He’s on the yearbook committee.”

You can feel the difference:

• “I’m in algebra class.” (you attend it)
• “I’m on the math team.” (you compete for it)

Pro-Tip:
If it sounds like a sports team or an official group that makes decisions, try on.
If it sounds like a classroom or room full of people, try in.

Quick recap: - “Have/has got” often means have/has; “have/has gotten” usually means became/received. - Use “have to” instead of “have got to” in more formal school writing. - “Dove” is the go‑to simple past in US speech; “dived” can feel more formal — just be consistent. - In US English, use on for days and the weekend, in for months/years, at for times. - Use on for teams/committees; in for classes and physical places.

Advanced (Mastery)

If you’ve made it this far, you’re ready for the tricky bits — the stuff that makes your English feel really controlled, not just “not wrong.”

1. Got vs gotten: tiny meaning shifts

In American English, gotten isn’t just random; it often shows change over time or receiving.

Compare:

• “I’ve got more patient about homework.”
• “I’ve gotten more patient about homework.”

To an American ear, sentence 1 feels off. “Have got” usually talks about having something, not becoming something.

Sentence 2 is natural. “Gotten” here means “become”:

• “I’ve gotten more patient.” = I have become more patient.

More examples:

• “He’s got very tall.” (odd in US English)
• “He’s gotten very tall.” (he has grown)
• “We’ve got a lot of homework.” (we have it right now)
• “We’ve gotten a lot of homework this week.” (we received it over time)

Same with “used to”:

• US English usually: “I’ve gotten used to waking up early.”
  (process of getting used to it)

You’ll see “I’ve got used to…” in British writing; in US school writing, “gotten used to” is clearer.

2. “Dove” and irregular verbs as a pattern

“Dove” fits into a bigger pattern in English where the vowel changes:

• drive → drove → driven
• ride → rode → ridden
• write → wrote → written
• dive → dove → (past participle usually dived)

Some people also say “I’ve dove there before” in speech. In careful US writing, teachers usually prefer:

• Simple past: “He dove into the water.” or “He dived into the water.”
• Past participle (with have/has/had):
• “He has dived into the water many times.”

So for top‑level school writing:

• Use dove for simple past if it feels natural to you.
• Use dived as a safe past participle: “has/have/had dived”.

Common Mistake:
“He had dove into the water every summer as a kid.”
Many US teachers will flag this. Safer:
“He had dived into the water every summer as a kid.”

3. Prepositions and “sounding British”

These little choices really change the “accent” of your writing:

• “What are you doing on the weekend?” → sounds US.
• “What are you doing at the weekend?” → sounds British.
• “I’m on the volleyball team.” → sounds US.
• “I’m in the volleyball team.” → sounds British to most Americans.

When you’re writing an essay or test in the US, dropping in “at the weekend” can make it look like you copied a British website. It’s not evil — just distracting.

Sometimes either preposition works, but changes the feel:

• “I’m in the choir.” (you belong to the group)
• “I’m on the church choir.” (feels a bit old‑fashioned or regional)

For standard US school English, “I’m in choir” or “I’m in the choir” is more common than “on the choir.”

4. Switching between US and UK styles on purpose

You might watch British YouTubers, read British books, or have British friends. That’s how “at the weekend” and “she’s got taller” sneak into your brain.

Basic rule:

• For US schoolwork, tests, college applications:
  Stick to US patterns — “gotten taller”, “on the weekend”, “on the team”.
• For chatting with British friends or reading British stories:
  It’s fine to understand and even copy their style a little in messages to them, but don’t mix it randomly into one US school assignment.

If you ever have to write in UK English on purpose, there’s a whole separate article in this library for that version.

Pro-Tip:
Think of US and UK English as two settings, not right vs wrong. For each piece of writing, pick a setting — US or UK — and stay there from start to finish.

Quick recap: - In US English, gotten often means “become/received”, while got is usually possession or obligation. - For very formal writing, you can use verbs like “become”, “received”, “obtained” instead of “gotten” if you want a fancier tone. - Use dived as the safe past participle in exams; dove is fine as simple past in US English. - Prepositions like “on the weekend” and “on the team” mark your writing as US‑style. - For US schoolwork, keep your verbs and prepositions consistently American.

UK vs US Note

This article is all about US English — the kind used in American schools, exams, and most US media. In UK English, people make different choices:

• They usually say just “got” instead of “gotten”.
• They prefer “dived” instead of “dove”.
• They often say “at the weekend” and “in a team”.

Those are completely correct in the UK system. They’re just not what US teachers expect in your essays.

If you want the UK rules in detail, look for the UK edition of this article in the library, and also the bigger guide: “UK vs. US English: A Practical Overview.”

Key Takeaways

• In US English, got and gotten both exist: got for having; gotten for becoming or receiving.
• Dived and dove are both correct; “dove” is common in speech; “dived” is safer in very formal writing.
• Americans usually say on the weekend and on the team, not “at the weekend” or “in the team”.
• Preposition and verb choices signal whether you’re writing US‑style or UK‑style.
• For US school and exams, pick US forms and stay consistent.

Check Your Understanding

1. Choose the best sentence for US school English:

a) I’ve gotten a new bike, and I’ve gotten much taller.
b) I’ve got a new bike, and I’ve gotten much taller.
c) I’ve gotten a new bike, and I’ve got much taller.

2. Rewrite this so it sounds natural in US English:

“What are you doing at the weekend?”

3. Fill in the blank with dived or dove (simple past):

Last summer, I ______ off the high board for the first time.

4. Which preposition fits best in US English?

I’m ___ the school soccer team.

a) in
b) on
c) at

5. Is this more US‑style or UK‑style?

“She’s got a lot taller since last year.”

Related Articles (Internal Links)

When this article goes into the library, it should link to:

• “UK vs. US English: A Practical Overview”
• UK edition of this article: “Got”, “Dived”, and “At the Weekend”: A Guide to UK Verb & Preposition Usage
• Verb pillar articles, such as:
• “Verbs: The Complete Beginner’s Guide”
• “Irregular Verbs: Patterns and Practice”
• Preposition pillar articles, such as:
• “Prepositions: The Basics”
• “Prepositions of Time and Place”