dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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 Posted: Sat Oct 10, 2009 9:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
----Let's see if the basketball game has started yet.
-----Started? It must be clear who ____ by now.
A. is winning B. has won |
It's a clumsy question, but the better (less clumsy) answer is still A. The author of the question expects us to assume that the game has already started and has progressed to the point where it should be clear who is currently winning. Of course, this naively ignores the possibility that the game may be very closely contested, and it may not be at all clear who is winning...right up to the final seconds of the game.
On the other hand, if we insert B, we have:
--- Let's see if the basketball game has started yet.
--- Started? It must be clear who has won by now.
This makes it sound as if the game has already ended. If that's the case, the first speaker has no idea what is going on, and it makes the second statement sound stupid. I mean, if the game is over, how hard is it to be sure who won?
Hope this makes sense.
Greg |
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