Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[chayjf]

An English teacher asked me to take and proof read her test. One of the questions stumped me. Hope you can help and tell me why so I can explain it to her. Thank you!
Question;

HE'S VERY DIFFICULT! YOU__________ THIS PROBLEM, TOO.
A. must have B. can have C. ought to have

[CP]

I think the best answer is "must have."

With "must have," the sentence means, "He's difficult to deal with. You must be difficult to deal with, too." That means something like, "I guess you are difficult, too."

With "can have," it means, "You are able to be difficult to deal with, too," which is not something someone would say.

With "ought to have," it means, "You should be difficult to deal with, too," meaning, that's something you should do. Again, not likely anyone would inspire someone to be more difficult!
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[chayjf]

Thank you.
The best reason I could come up with to explain this response was "it just sounds better" and that isn't very helpful and can be more frustrating than anything else.
Chay

[CP]

No, it is not just that it sounds better, but the meanings of the different verbs make a difference in the meaning of the sentence.

I am sorry if it is frustrating and not very helpful, but I explained the meanings of the different verbs precisely so that you would see why one verb was right and the other two wrong. Would you like it better if my answer had just been, "Choose A"?

You said you wanted to explain it to your teacher. Why don't you show her these posts and see what she says?
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Swim4life]

Obviously the best answer is �must have�, but I�m assuming that with this answer this sentence might mean �(I found) he is very difficult, and you will also find that he is very difficult. You will find the same problem�

Well, I�m not a native English speaker. I�m open to your suggestions.

[lotus]

A very good assessment, Swim4life.


--lotus