Find the grammar error!
This introductory paragraph was taken from Monday morning's Washington Post newspaper. Can you find the grammar error?
"Assuming no hiccups in the House -- and that might be a big assumption -- we’ve got a deal. The deficit-reduction side includes $1 trillion in cuts now, $1.5 trillion (or more) in deficit reduction later, and a vote on a balanced budget amendment. Meanwhile, it raises the debt ceiling by $900 billion immediately, and either $1.5 trillion (if the second deficit reduction package or a balanced budget amendment passes) or $1.2 trillion (if neither pass) later. Either way, the Treasury should have plenty of borrowing authority to get us to 2013."
10 Answers
(if neither pass)
It should be passes, right? 
If I were a copy editor, I see four things I would have changed. 
However, I would prefer SD members do not see just how pedantic I can be.
If we take what Web says about the use of ''got'' in his most recent post to be true, and it holds true as far as I am concerned, then where exactly is the grammatical error, please?
This is the only error I could possibly see. Please remember that there are expressions that are acceptable in USA that we would not use in England and maybe grammatical structures that would not not be acceptable in both countries.
Unless we are splitting hairs (ie: arguing over trivial details) here , even I as a native could not see where the error is in this passage after reading it several through times. If we were to discount ken's post
''we’ve got a deal.
We have a deal.'' what other mistakes are there left?
if the second deficit reduction package or a balanced budget amendment passes) is correct
(if neither pass) This is also correct Neither here is short for if neither of these things pass You would not say passes here or pass in teh example above
Please someone point out the grammatical error before I tear out my hair hehehe
Commas before the and's.
Comma should be inserted after either 1.5 trillion and after Passes)
Comma should be inserted after either 1.2 trillion and after Pass)
Deficit Reduction. One has a hyphen and one doesn't.
"and either $1.5 trillion" should be "to either $1.5 trillion"
we’ve got a deal.
. We have a deal.
Why? you can use have with got in the same meaning as we have. Why is this here incorrect?
I hear on tv all the time: you've got yourself a deal.
Hmmmmm, me lo cuenten, porfa
we’ve got a deal.
. We have a deal.
There is also a punctuation error: "--" shouldn't have spaces on either side.
"Assuming no hiccups in the House -- and that might be a big assumption -- we’ve got a deal. The deficit-reduction side includes $1 trillion in cuts now, $1.5 trillion (or more) in deficit reduction later, and a vote on a balanced budget amendment. Meanwhile, it raises the debt ceiling by $900 billion immediately, and either $1.5 trillion (if the second deficit reduction package or a balanced budget amendment passes) or $1.2 trillion (if neither pass) later. Either way, the Treasury should have plenty of borrowing authority to get us to 2013."
This is really difficult, I will assume, without peeking at the other answers, that it should be borrowed.
If it has something to do with the numbers, well, tough, I haven't got a clue, jeje
Have got = have gotten (got is a legitimate past participle and is equal to gotten).
Since got is a valid alternative past participle for get (the other being gotten), have got is a legitimate conjugation of the verb "to get, and, therefore, cannot be a grammatical error. It might be considered poor style by some. Some might say it's redundant when simply saying "have" will do. I say, it has a very nice emphatic sound to it. It probably should be avoided in highly formal writing or for any paper that will be turned into a professor who is known to mark off for its use.
