Hi everybody,
I have got a thought to ask you about “got to”.
I hear people saying things like:
I got to tell you
I got to be honest…
When this translated in French, then I understand very well what it means (je dois te le dire. Je dois être honnête). However the use of “got” in present form seems to be grammatically incorrect.
I appreciate any explication.
I gotta = I got to = I have got to
Some people drop the “have” when speaking.
Thank you!
This became easier to see when you use GOTTA. Do you know if the Americans say: I gotten to tell you or I gotten to be honest?
I don’t think so because “I’ve got” is not the same as “I’ve gotten”. The former is a colloquial way of saying “I have” (present tense) while the latter is the present perfect form of the verb “to get”.
Wait for a native to confirm though!
I know it can be confusing because “I got to” can either be short for “I’ve got to”, or the past form of “I get to”, which has a different meaning.
“I know it can be confusing because…”
You’re right - I’m already confused! This is why I’ve deliberately chosen to skip grammar stuff until I’ve achieved a “comfortable” level of English. But sometimes I try to understand why things are as they are.As I said early, I understand the meaning of “I got to…” and this would be far enough, right now.
No we never say that. “I have got to do X” can’t be put in the past tense. But “I had gotten to be fat” means “I had become fat.”