Is it correct to say "America's got talent"?

Question

For some reason this hurts my ears. Is this proper english? Would it be better to say, "America has talent" or "America has got talent"? When is it correct to use just got instead of have or have got?

Answer 1

America has got talent is just as bad as America's got talent.  It should be America has talent.  I really hate it when the media use improper forms like this, because it makes everyone think it is correct.

Answer 2

Yes, it is correct.

The 's' after the apostrophe in America refers to the verb 'have'. It expands to read: America has got talent.

You can show possession both by using 'has' AND 'has got', but the contracted form uses 'got' because contracting the 'has' would make it: America's talent (which means something else entirely).

The forms are as follows:

Singular

I have got talent = I've got talent

You have got talent = You've got talent

She has got talent = She's got talent

He has got talent = He's got talent

It has got talent = It's got talent

Plural

We have got talent = We've got talent

You have got talent = You've got talent

They have got talent = They've got talent

I agree it sounds awkward, though.

Answer 3

America has Talent sounds better, but they're all correct, well, grammatically, America clear has no talent watching the show sometimes.

"When have is used to speak about possession, relationships and other states, it is possible to use both have and have got" - http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/a...