Do you guys ever say 'Have I really got to go?'

[Penny Lane]

Have I got to go?

yeah, i do know that 'have you got their album?' is used a lot.
but i was wondering, 'have got' in that meaning,(have to, must) do you say 'have i got to ###?' ?

cheers!

[MrPedantic]

Hello PL,

In BrE, "Have I got to do X?", "You have got to do X", etc. are quite commonly used.

For instance, if I call a helpline with a question about my new laptop, I might say e.g.

1. If I want to do X, have I got to do Y first?

All the best,

MrP

[Jamie (K)]

Penny, it's very common for English speakers on all continents to say, "I have got to..." It's the same thing as, "I have to..."

However, when you're dealing with US and Canadian English, be careful, because we have two past participles for "get". The participle "gotten" has apparently been lost from standard British English, but we still use it.

For example, in North America, we make this contrast that the British don't:

I have got your letter. = "I have your letter."
I have gotten your letter. = "I have received your letter."

And we have this contrast:

I have to go there. = "I must go there."
I have got to go there. = "I must go there."
I have gotten to go there. = I have had the privilege of going there, or someone has given me permission or the opportunity to go.

That last one is the present perfect form of the expression "get to + verb", which means that someone makes it possible for you to do something, or that you've been give permission to do something. Usually that thing is some pleasure or privilege: "I get to go to the zoo with my class tomorrow!" or "We get to have pancakes for dinner!" It's not possible to convey this idea in the present perfect in standard British English, as far as I know.

[Penny Lane]

thanks for helpful answers, MrP and Jamie :P
yeah, i did know that 'have got to' is used a lot, and i say that a lot too.
what i was wondering was, about um,, when it's a 'question' form.
cause i've hardly heard people say 'Have I got to do X?'. i've only heard them saying 'Do I have to X?' or 'Do I need to X?'.
but I heard that in the film 'This is England' so was wondering if it is used commonly, or used only in the past, or only in the northern england.
so, you DO say that!
cheers again, have a good weekend!

[Jamie (K)]

Yes, it's very often used in questions.

[MrPedantic]

[Nessie]

[Jamie (K)]

I think the British can use it in other tenses. Unless I'm mistaken, they can say, "I get to go to the zoo tomorrow," or, "I got to go to the zoo yesterday," but they can't say, "I've gotten to go to the zoo a few times."

[MrPedantic]

No, that's right. It's an interesting omission. I suppose we would have to use some kind of periphrasis; though off-hand, I can't think what!

[Molly]

[Nessie]

Excuse me but could you please give me some examples of that periphrasis, MrP? (I'm a non-native speaker and I really want to know more about this interesting difference between British English and American English ;))

Many thanks in advance :)
_________________
:(... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. :(

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Jamie (K)]

[Jamie (K)]

[Molly]

Don't most of the right ones say "chiefly US"? That's not the same as "lost from standard British English", is it?

[Molly]