this post was submitted on 22 Jul 2023
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English usage and grammar

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Hi folks.

Can I ask: Is it better to say “We’ve got to get going” or “ We have to get going”?

I hear the former in conversation and it slightly irks me. I think it’s because of the redundancy (?) in the sentence. Which is better, grammatically? The latter feels cleaner. Am I wrong?

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[–] OsakaWilson 4 points 1 year ago

Neither are wrong. The former is more common in America and is more casual. Funny, because the general rule is that for two phrases that mean the same thing, the more wordy statement usually the more polite.