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https://youtu.be/Xe5LQHCWZRM

"Everybody's gotta learn somtime"

(As I know, " 's " is a contraction of 'has' in this case)

I am confused about what 'has got to' means in this lyrics.

Which of the following is more close to it?

1) Something is necessary or required.

2) Something is true or will happen.

2 Answers 2

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"Has got to" means that you need to, with the implication that you will.

We've all gotta learn someday

One day everyone will learn this truth, and it will be out of necessity that you learn it.

He's gotta lesson to learn today

He needs to learn from a mistake, often this would be taken as a threat.

I would also note the similar "gonna" which implies that something will happen, but not necessarily that it needs to happen.

He's gonna learn a lesson today

Not necessarily that he needs to learn the lesson, but that it will happen.

We're all gonna learn some day

This has an almost identical meaning to "we all gotta" but its possible that what we need to learn is not beneficial as a lesson that we "gotta" learn. This just says that we will learn it.

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  • I'm curious about why you've exclusively used the contractions gonna and gotta. Do you think there's something different about got to and gotta or going to and gonna? Or is it simply a matter of style?
    – Juhasz
    Dec 11, 2019 at 21:47
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English has two simple present forms for the verb have.

Also, the idiom: to have to, or to have got to, means being obliged to do something.

This "Everybody's gotta learn sometime" parses to this:

Everybody has got to learn sometime.

Everybody has got to learn is the same as Everybody has to learn.

This stems from what I said at the beginning: the verb have, and thus, have to [verb] has two simple present forms.

"Everybody**'s gotta learn** sometime" is colloquial speech.

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