What do people think of the sentence ‘I’ve not got it’?

Previous findings

Hughes et al. note that, while speakers in the South of England tend to negate a statement of possession by saying I haven’t got it, “the further north one goes, the more likely one is to hear” I’ve not got it (2012:19).

Our findings

This sentence seems to be considered perfectly acceptable for most UK regions, particularly in the North, where 94% of speakers chose the two highest evaluations. It is somewhat less favourable in the South, as well as in Northern Ireland; the top two ratings were only selected by 71% and 63% of speakers, respectively, in these regions.