Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[nathd]

could you tell me if 'hurried' in this sentence is correct:

Are you hurried? Yes, I've to go immediately.

Wouldn't it be better to say:

Are you in a hurry?

Thanks for your answers.

[CP]

The Q&A is not natural:

"Are you hurried?" "Yes, I've to go immediately."

More natural would be:

"Are you in a hurry / in a rush?" "Yes, I have to go immediately / right away."

When you are "hurrying," you are rushing. When you are "hurried," you are being rushed by someone or something else. People don't say, "Are you hurried?" to mean "Are you in a hurry?" But someone might say, "I was so hurried during my presentation that I had to leave off the ending."

As for the answer, although "I've" is a contraction for "I have," as in, "I've been lazy all day," we don't say "I've to do something" as short for "I have to do something."

Have to = must in such constructions, and native speakers virtually always say "I have to" or "you have to," not "I've to" or "you've to," etc. (I say virtually always, because I've heard it once or twice, but by someone trying to sound sophisticated. It didn't work.)

In speaking, it often sounds like "haf" instead of "have," because the speaker is emphasizing the urgency: "I HAF to get going or I'll be late!"
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[nathd]

thanks CP for your exhaustive answer.