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I know that normally in American English we use "gotten" after has/have but in this type of construction, do Americans say "got" or "gotten"? As in

"I have got to sing"
or
"I have gotten to sing"?

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    I'll leave it to an AmE speaker to give you an answer, but in my experience, in AmE the perfect of get to (= "have the opportunity to, have the benefit of doing") is have gotten to while the present of have got to (= "be obliged to") is have got to. In BrE they are both have got to and ambiguity can arise.
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:21
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    I have got/have to do this, I must do this= are the same in BrE and AmE. Now, the confusion comes from the fact that: the present tense of have got [which is the same as have to: have has two present tense forms in English] and the BrE present perfect: "have got" are the same thing. For example: He has got a lot of goals recently. [BrE] and He has gotten a lot of goals recently. [AmE]
    – Lambie
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:39
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    "I went to a concert and got to meet my favourite singer" = I had (and took) the opportunity to meet them. But we wouldn't use I have got to in this sense.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Feb 11, 2022 at 9:16
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    Sorry, I got my quotes in the wrong place. I meant the "have to" sense - the meaning which is like "have to" (as opposed to the meaning like "have an opportunity")
    – Colin Fine
    Commented Feb 11, 2022 at 13:12
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    Well, I would disagree. To me, I got to [do something] means that you were able to do it thanks to a welcome, and perhaps unexpected, opportunity.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Feb 12, 2022 at 10:17

2 Answers 2

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Exactly as Colin Fine said, both could be used and they have very different meanings in American English.

I have got to sing means I must sing—I have an obligation or a need or a drive to sing. It is a present-tense expression of need.

I have gotten to sing means I have had the opportunity to sing. Note that this is the past tense now—we are describing an opportunity that existed at one point in the past.

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  • Thank you Colin and randomhead.
    – Bilal Zafar
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:32
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    I have got to sing, I must sing, I have to sing are all the same. have got/have meaning "have to do something" are the same in BrE and AmE.
    – Lambie
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:35
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I got one answer from MarcinManhattan on my other thread which I am adding here. He said the same as you both said. "I have got to go to the party" means "I have to go to the party" (present time). "I have gotten to go to the party" means "I have been able to go to the party" (present perfect). 

– MarcInManhattan

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    Bilal, randomhead already said that. I have gotten to go the party=to have the opportunity to go to the party. Not really: been able to.
    – Lambie
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:42
  • What other thread? Do you mean "question"?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:47
  • @Mari-Lou A. Yes i meant question.
    – Bilal Zafar
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:49
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    I did a little hunting via your profile page, EDIT the post is here ell.stackexchange.com/questions/303060/i-had-got-to-eat-burger it's always a good idea to post the link, it gives more context. Often users copy comments and add links, it helps avoid confusion.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Feb 10, 2022 at 18:50

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