What + HAVE + PRONOUN + got to be

The following grammar pattern does not have an entry in the English Profile.  It relates to questions with stranded prepositions which are generally pegged at B2.

It also relates to either A1 possession or ownership = have got

or A2 modality = have got to do something.

The overall complexity of this pattern is at least B2.

The meaning of this pattern is ambiguous because it is not clear whether it is possession or modality.

For example:

What have you got to be so happy about?

listen

It is a complex way to say “Why are you happy?” OR “What do you have that you are happy about?


A search in the MOVIE corpus for:

_DDQ _VH _P got _TO be _J

1 WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO BE SORRY 5
2 WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO BE SCARED 3
3 WHAT HAVE I GOT TO BE ANGRY 2
4 WHAT HAVE I GOT TO BE SORE 2
5 WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO BE NERVOUS 2
6 WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO BE UPTIGHT 1
7 WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO BE UNHAPPY 1
8 WHAT HAVE YOU GOT TO BE ASHAMED 1
9 WHAT HAVE WE GOT TO BE SCARED 1
10 WHAT HAVE WE GOT TO BE AFRAID 1