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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

"Have to" and "Got to"

Hello. I have a question about when to use of "have to" and "got to". Example:

"I have to go"
"I got to go"

They seem the same to me! So when are the uses for each?
  

Top answer

I'm a British English speaker. There may be differences here between British and American usage. "I have to [do something]" is fine.

— Mr Wordy

  • I'm a British English speaker.
  • There may be differences here between British and American usage.
  • "I have to [do something]" is fine.
  • "I've got to [do something]" is also OK, but is more informal (the contraction "I've" would very often be used).
  • This use of "got" is extremely common in everyday speech and writing, but I would avoid it in formal writing.
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2 Answers
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I'm a British English speaker. There may be differences here between British and American usage.

"I have to [do something]" is fine.

"I've got to [do something]" is also OK, but is more informal (the contraction "I've" would very often be used). This use of "got" is extremely common in everyday speech and writing, but I would avoid it in formal writing.

"I got to [do so
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In certain parts of Britain (e.g. Scotland, but maybe others), "I got to go" has an entirely different meaning: "I was permitted to go" or "I was given the opportunity to go". Similarly "Did you get to go?" means "were you given the opportunity/permission to go?"; I have even heard this abbrevated to "He'll no' get" meaning "he will not be able to go". etc.

So the distinction between "I
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