You got it. VS I got it.

Forums: Grammar, Esl, English
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The other day, a British gave me an question which I failed to answer,
and he gave me a kind and helpful explanation.

He asked if I understood it, and I said, 'I got it.'
And he said it's such a nice expression to use : I got it.

My question is if I had said 'You got it.' instead of 'I got it',
would it have made sense as well in that context?

A little bird told me that 'You got it.' is interchangable with 'I got it' under some circumstances,
and I'd like to know if it is so in this context.

A : Do you understand what I am saying?
B : You got it. Thanks.

Is this conversation natural enough?

I'd be looking forward to any of your comments.
Thanks for reading.

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Type: Question • Score: 7 • Views: 975 • Replies: 13

View best answer, chosen by SMickey

@SMickey,

No. It wouldn't have made sense in that context.

"I got it" means "I understand"
"You got it" means "You understand".

They are not interchangeable.

If you say "Do you understand?" and I respond "you understand", it doesn't make sense. It doesn't answer the question you are asking.

I think the confusing part if that "You got it" can also be used to indicate agreement with a request. For example, if you ask me "Can you buy me some milk", I could answer "You got it" which is a informal and slightly enthusiastic response to mean that yes, I am happy to buy you milk.

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@SMickey,

"I got it" means I understand. If you were asking someone if they understand you could say "Do you get it?" If you say "You got it", that means you grant their request. "Could you pick up something for me at the store? You got it."

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

Oh, I got it. Now it's clear. Thank you so much.

2 Replies

@engineer,

So, 'you got it' here is something like 'Be my guest,' I guess.
If my buddy asks me to do him a favor, I can say like, 'You got it,' which means 'I'd be pleased to help you.' I got it? I hope so. Thanks.

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@SMickey,

BTW, the idiom "a little bird told me"?

It's usually used when you got some information, but you're not going to tell where you got it from, as in, that's a secret how I found out.

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@SMickey,

SMickey wrote:

So, 'you got it' here is something like 'Be my guest,' I guess.
If my buddy asks me to do him a favor, I can say like, 'You got it,' which means 'I'd be pleased to help you.' I got it? I hope so. Thanks.

No, it's not like "be my guest" Be my guest means more like "help yourself to whatever you want" as in, you would make sure a guest would be provided with everything they would want or need.

"You got it" more means "consider it done" It's saying to the other person that they can be so sure you will help them, they don't even need to think about it any more.

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@SMickey,

SMickey wrote:

Oh, I got it. Now it's clear. Thank you so much.

You got it.

0 Replies

Now we all get it.

1 Reply

@PUNKEY,

But some of us don't get it enough.

0 Replies

@chai2,

Oh, I didn't know that. I just thought it's another way of saying 'Someone told me.' Thank you. I learned one more thing thanks to you.

0 Replies

@chai2,

Right. If those two were exactly same, there would be just one expression, not two. Though English is such a tough language to learn, I feel like I'm getting better gradually, and I should appreciate all the help coming from those nice people like you. Can't thank you enough, Chai2.

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@SMickey,

Funny story about "a little bird"

When I was little, maybe 4 years old, I was sitting on a bench with some other adults. I said "I wish I had some ice cream"

Maybe a half hour later, my mother showed up with an ice cream cone for me.

I was amazed! How in the world did she know I wanted ice cream?

When I asked her, she just said "oh, a little bird told me"

For a long time I thought there was a bird that could speak, that knew my mother and went to tell her.... Laughing

1 Reply

@chai2,

One gentleman among those adults sitting next to you must have been the little bird. I can easily imagine how delighted you must've been to see your mother. Smile

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You got it. VS I got it.

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