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According to Michael Swan and Catherine Walter in their Oxford English Grammar Course (2011) 'Got-forms are not generally used to talk about habits and repeated actions'. But I can't get rid of the feeling that I have come across the usage of got-forms with school subjects though can't cite the excerpts here.

So, is this usage common in English and if so, is it grammatically correct?

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    In my American English, that's fine for informal speech. (Though I would say math instead of maths, being American.)
    – user8399
    Apr 25, 2015 at 16:29
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    I think this could be considered to be short for "I've got Maths [on my schedule] twice a week". Apr 25, 2015 at 19:04
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    Okay, so the book says not generally. You have one example that represents an exception (talking about a schedule).
    – user6951
    Apr 25, 2015 at 19:53
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    I wouldn't think of this as referring to a regular activity, I would think of it as a possessive use of "have got". "I've got a pencil [in my pocket].", "I've got Professor Brown this semester [in my maths class].' Apr 26, 2015 at 19:41
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    "This semester I haven't got any maths classes." Apr 26, 2015 at 19:43

3 Answers 3

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I have got Math(s) twice a week.

The sentence is grammatically incorrect.

The phrase "have got" is mainly used in the sense of "have" when you talk about a possession, relationship, situation, or state, but not when you are talking about an action or event. You can say I have/have got a car, but you cannot say I have got a bath every morning.

the verb "have" in the sentence in question is indicative of an action. So you cannot say "I have got Math(s) twice a week. Instead, the correct sentence is:

I have Math twice a week.

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It may be gramatically incorrect, but it will make you sound more like a native English speaker: "I've got maths twice a week", "I've got a meeting in 10 minutes" etc.

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It's definitely a very common way of expressing it, and I would say it is grammatically correct.

You could say "I have Maths twice a week" - so what's the difference?

I considered a number of examples, and I think that the word "got" adds something. It gives a sense of having received or having been allocated something. It provides emphasis to the statement, and may have either negative or positive connotations.

The statement "I have Maths twice a week" by itself is quite neutral, whereas "I've got Maths twice a week" is more emphatic. Depending on how one feels about Maths, the added "got" may give the impression of this being some foul punishment from the powers-that-be, or an exciting opportunity to learn the wonders of Calculus.

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