Verb

got

1. We got the last bus home.

2. By that time we'd got very cold.

   I've got two children.

   How many children have you got?

3. I can't go out tonight, I've got to study for my exams.

4. have

   They got a new car.

   He got a lot of nerve.

5. must; have (to).

   I got to go study.

Usage notes

The second sentence literally means "At some time in the past I got (obtained) two children", but in "have got" constructions like this, where "got" is used in the sense of "obtained", the sense of obtaining is lost, becoming merely one of possessing, and the sentence is in effect just a more colloquial way of saying "I have two children". Similarly, the third sentence is just a more colloquial way of saying "How many children do you have?" The American usage of the verb conjugates as get-got-gotten, as opposed to the British usage, which conjugates as get-got-got. "Got" is a filler word here with no obvious grammatical or semantic function. "I have to study for my exams" has the same meaning.