[Grammar] I have to/have got to/got to leave now.
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See above. The first two are correct and interchangeable. The third is grammatically incorrect. You will hear "I gotta leave now" but it's non-standard and should only be written when reporting direct speech. It wouldn't be written as "got to" in that situation, only as "gotta".
kadioguy
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No. To have got to is another way to say to have to. You can't omit the helping verb have in formal written English.
In American spoken English, you will often hear I got to go rather than I gotta go. The bolded word is heavily emphasized, and to is slurred. That conveys more urgency than I gotta go.
kadioguy
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So I got to go is OK in spoken English, but not correct in formal written English. Am I right?
kadioguy
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Hi, friends
"I got to leave" = "I gotta leave", but it is suitable for spoken English, not for formal written English.
We should use "I have to leave" or "I have got to leave" in formal written English.
Am I right? Could anyone tell me?
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"I got to leave" could also mean that you received permission to leave.
When were were caught in the school that night, I got to leave because my dad is on the school board, but the other kids had to say there and have their parents come pick them up.
The bank robber took seven of us as hostages, but I got to leave because I was pregnant and he took pity on me.
When were were caught in the school that night, I got to leave because my dad is on the school board, but the other kids had to say there and have their parents come pick them up.
The bank robber took seven of us as hostages, but I got to leave because I was pregnant and he took pity on me.
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When we speak naturally we tend to condense what we're saying. I gotta go is a way to represent the way that I have got to go is widely pronounced in natural speech.
Very often in natural speech, subjects and their auxiliaries become contracted (I am becomes I'm and I have becomes I've)
I have got to go can be represented in writing as I've got to go.
Also, in fluent, natural speech, weakly stressed syllables such as the infinitive marker to can seem to almost disappear into a very weak form (want to can be written as wanna and got to as gotta).
I've got to go can be represented in writing as I've gotta go.
And to take this reduction one stage further, some of the grammatical words (such as the auxiliary have) can sometimes seem to disappear completely.
I've gotta go can be represented in writing as I gotta go.
So there's nothing non-standard about saying I gotta go. It's merely a representation of the way that I have got to go is sometimes pronounced. For this reason, it is obviously not correct in written English unless the aim is to purposely demonstrate this representation of speech.
Very often in natural speech, subjects and their auxiliaries become contracted (I am becomes I'm and I have becomes I've)
I have got to go can be represented in writing as I've got to go.
Also, in fluent, natural speech, weakly stressed syllables such as the infinitive marker to can seem to almost disappear into a very weak form (want to can be written as wanna and got to as gotta).
I've got to go can be represented in writing as I've gotta go.
And to take this reduction one stage further, some of the grammatical words (such as the auxiliary have) can sometimes seem to disappear completely.
I've gotta go can be represented in writing as I gotta go.
So there's nothing non-standard about saying I gotta go. It's merely a representation of the way that I have got to go is sometimes pronounced. For this reason, it is obviously not correct in written English unless the aim is to purposely demonstrate this representation of speech.
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