Boy: Dad, Dad! Can I have some money to buy a Game Boy?
Dad: A Game Boy? Those are too expensive.
Boy: No, they’re not. There only twenty-five dollars. ****I’ve got*** forty-two dollars before, but Mom didn’t let me buy one.
Foofa
"I've got" is merely a contraction for "I have got", so that works. The real problem with this exchange is that the proper phrasing would be "May I have some money to buy a Game Boy" rather than "Can I...".
Pearl
it sounds okay to me
Anonymous
If I'm reading this right, the boy is trying to get across the point that he's saved the $42 before, so this proves he's capable of doing it. It just didn't work out.
If that's true, then the phrasing is wrong. "I've got" implies present tense. He should have said "I saved" or even "I had".
g
The reference to "before" indicates this is past tense. The correct form would be "I had" or "I received." If it's present tense, "I have 42 dollars ..."