Got to be / has got to be

The second sentence is grammatical if you put a full stop at the end.

CB

Thank you. What about the first one, is it wrong? Could you at least use it in informal speech? I get about two million google results if I search for "this got to be", so I thought it might be valid.

geoyoWhat about the first one, is it wrong?

Yes, but many uneducated people use the structure. The problem is that got is past tense and yet people use it as a present tense form. You can use it at your own risk in informal contexts but I strongly advise you not to use it in formal English. When I hear someone use it, I always think: "He never fin

geoyoI get about two million google results if I search for "this got to be", so I thought it might be valid.

You should be very cautious about using the number of Google results as an indicator of whether a phrase is correct. First of all, anyone can post anything on the internet, so common errors may show up thousands, or millions, of times. Secondly, a grou

Thank you Cool Breeze and Blue Jay. It seems like a simple mistake, but I couldn't figure it out really. Until now, I used the wrong phrase, I thought it was just a shorter, yet valid variant.

"I'd like to know how this got to be so dirty."

As for your example, this usage of the phrase is new to me. Another question, I wonder if you could use the shortened informal

geoyo"I'd like to know how this gotta be so dirty."That looks very wrong to me, can you actually say that?

No. Here got to be is used to mean became, came to be. Gotta is used to mean have to, must.

Cool BreezeWhen I hear someone use it, I always think: "He never finished high school."

That is so judgemental! You remind me of ...

... me.