Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

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I met an elderly lady in your house who spoke with a lisp.

1-That must be my Grandmother.
2-That has to be my Grandmother.
3-That had to be my Grandmother.
4-That should be my Grandmother.
5-That ought to be my Grandmother.
6-That would be my Grandmother.

Are all the sentences 1-6 acceptable in this context?

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Should and ought have very similar meanings, and they're not as strong as must. Honestly I'm not entirely sure about 4 and 5 - grammatically they're correct, but they sound like the person is doubtful, as though the person might not be their grandmother. Should and ought imply something is wrong if it isn't true:

"I met an elderly lady in your house who spoke with a lisp."

'That might be my grandmother.' (It's possible, it could be someone else though - my great-aunt lives there too and she also has a lisp)

'That should be my grandmother.' (Who else could it be? If it's not my grandmother then who is this other elderly lady in my house!?)


The others are all very certain though, so they're definitely ok. 4 and 5 convey a different meaning to me, but as I said they're grammatically fine and make perfect sense.