How would you interpret the last sentence?
How would you interpret the last sentence ‘I got to work for my decorations’?
Why did the speaker use the past tense, ‘got’, instead of the present tense, ‘get’?
Does it belong to some colloquial usage?
Thanks. It’s from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Chapter 19).

the context:
"I hear you're going to get the silver medal," Ettore said to me. "What kind of citation you going to get?"
"I don't know. I don't know I'm going to get it."
"You're going to get it. Oh boy, the girls at the Cova will think you're fine then. They'll all think you killed two hundred Austrians or captured a whole trench by yourself. Believe me, I got to work for my decorations."

Question

How would you interpret the last sentence?
How would you interpret the last sentence ‘I got to work for my decorations’?
Why did the speaker use the past tense, ‘got’, instead of the present tense, ‘get’?
Does it belong to some colloquial usage?
Thanks. It’s from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Chapter 19).

the context:
"I hear you're going to get the silver medal," Ettore said to me. "What kind of citation you going to get?"
"I don't know. I don't know I'm going to get it."
"You're going to get it. Oh boy, the girls at the Cova will think you're fine then. They'll all think you killed two hundred Austrians or captured a whole trench by yourself. Believe me, I got to work for my decorations."

Answer

I agree with Long Phu.

Answer

Thank you, Long Phu. I would say your interpretation makes sense.
Thank you too, John. And, yes, it is Ettore who said the last sentence.

Answer

Is the last sentence in Ettore's words?

Answer

Hi Gordon,

I think what Hemingway means is "I've got to work for my decorations." And in this context, "I got to..." means "I have to/must...".

It's similar to how the colloquial phrase "got to go" is a short form of the sentence "I've got to go".

Answers · 4

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