LINGUIST List 9.398

Wed Mar 18 1998

Sum: Have to/Have got to

Editor for this issue: Martin Jacobsen <martylinguistlist.org>

Directory

1. YIB00161niftyserve.or.jp>, Have to/Have got to

At the end of December I raised a question about "have to" and "have
got to". My question is as follows: I think sentence (2) is more
emphatic and more emotional than (1). Am I right ? (1) You have to
be kidding. (2) You've got to be kidding. Soon after that I got 9
e-mails. Thank you for answering my question. 

I would express my sincere thanks to the following people who
supplied useful data: Price Caldwell, Stephen van Bibber, Ronald
Cosper, Frank Gladney, Steve Nicoll e, Mark Balhorn, Beard Michael,
Richard C. DeArmond, and Vincent Jenkins. 

Two respondents told me that I am exactly right. Two respondents said
that sentence (1) sounds odd or less natural than (2). One respondent
pointed out that factors other than emphasis and emotion can also come
into play when a speaker chooses between the two forms. 

Thank you.
Kenji Kashino 
Professor of English Linguistics, 
Osaka Shoin Women's College