Have got toandhave to
Have got toandhave tomean the same.Have got tois more informal. We usehave (got) tohere torefer to both verbs.
Have got toandhave to: forms
Affirmative form
Have (got) tocomes before the main verb:
Youhave totry these cakes. They are so good.
It is often contracted, especially in speaking.
You’ve got topress very hard on the doorbell.
Have (got) tocannot be followed by a modal verb:
We’ve totake the car to the garage this morning.
Not:We’ve to must take the car to the garage this morning.
Have (got) tois only used alone when the main verb and any complement of the verb is obvious:
A:Does hehave todo exams this year?
B:Yes, hehas (got) to.
See also:
Have
Negative form
The negative ofhave tois formed usingdo not,does not,did notordon’t,doesn’t,didn’t:
Wedon’t have topay for the food.
The negative ofhave got tois formed by addingnotafterhave. We don’t usedon’t,doesn’t,didn’t:
Wehaven’t got topay for the food.
Not:We don’t have got to pay for the food.
See also:
Modality: forms
Have
Question form
Do, does, didare used before the subject to form questions withhave to:
Do we have totake our shoes off?
The subject andhavechange position to form questions withhave got to:
Have we got totake our shoes off?
See also:
Have
Have got toandhave to: meaning
Obligation
Have (got) toisused torefer to obligations which come from outside the speaker:
You’ve got todrive more slowly! We’re in a 30-mile-an-hour zone.
I’ve got topay extra rent now because my friend has left the apartment.
In speaking,have got tois more common thanhave towhen talking about obligation:
A:Let’s clean this kitchen up.
B:We’ve just gotto try to clean it a bit more.
A:Yes, at least once a week, it needs a good clean.
Deductions and conclusions
Have (got) tocan be used to make deductions or draw conclusions.Have (got) tois less common thanmustin this meaning:
You have so much work and you’re not feeling well. Thishas got tobe a tough time for you.(Because you have so much work and are not feeling well, I conclude that your life is hard at the moment.)
A:Alan has just left his job in the bank.
B:Why? There’s got tobe a reason.
A:Nobody seems to know why.
A:The robbers cut a hole in the ceiling directly above the safe.
B:That’s amazing. They’ve got tohave known where the safe was.
See also:
Must
Have got toandhave to: tense
Have got tocan only be used in the present.Have tocan be used in a variety of forms:
I’ve got tostudy for the exam.
Not:I’d got to study for the exam. orI’ll have got to study for the exam.
Ihave tostudy for the exam.
Ihad tostudy for the exam.
I’llhave tostudy for the exam.
Shehas tocall her parents by ten o’clock.
She’d had tocall her parents by ten o’clock.
She’ll haveto call her parents by ten o’clock.
Whenfuture obligations and plans are already agreed, the present tense ofhave (got) tois preferred, rather thanwill have to:
Jane’s got to beat the doctor’s by three o’clock.
Ihave topick up my daughter at school at four o’clock.