Summary Details

Query:	Have to/Have got to
Author:	Kenji Kashino
Submitter Email:	click here to access email
Linguistic LingField(s):	Pragmatics Semantics Syntax
Summary:	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

LL Issue:	9.398
Date Posted:	18-Mar-1998
Original Query:	Read original query
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