Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[puzzle]

Dear teachers,
Could you please tell me the differences between "necessarily" and "essentially" in the following sentence?

When you make a decision to buy something , you must remember that a good name of product doesn't ___ mean good quality of it.
A. necessarily B. essentially

The answer given is "B". I want to know how to exclude "A"?
Thank you!

[CP]

I think the correct answer is "necessarily," which fits much better than "essentially" here, and is much more likely to be said by a native speaker.

By the way, the passage does not sound like it was written by a native speaker, and if it was a teacher who wrote it and gave the two possible answers, I would question his / her proficiency in English.
_________________
You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[dragn]

Hi Puzzle,

Ditto to everything CP said...that sentence is pretty sad. However, if you actually want a line of reasoning to use to argue your case with your teacher, try this:

When we say that something isn't necessarily true, we mean that in spite of the fact that it might be true some of the time, it's not always true. It's wrong to automatically assume it's true in every case because there is reason to doubt that it's always true, and we normally say this to call attention to that doubt. This phrase is normally expressed in the negative.

When we say that something is essentially true, we mean it's basically true. It's true in the majority of cases. It may not be true in absolutely every case, but it's usually true. When we say this we are in effect assuaging any doubt that may exist concerning the fact that it's usually true. This phrase is normally expressed in the positive (and rarely in the negative).

Now, take the following sentence (rephrased to make it a bit more comprehensible):

When you make a decision to buy something, you must remember that a famous brand name doesn't (a) necessarily (b) essentially mean that the product is of good quality.

It's obvious to anyone who understands the sentence that it is alerting us to the fact that famous brand name products are in fact not always of better quality than cheaper brands. The sentence is warning us to shop carefully and not simply plunk down wads of cash for something just because the tag says Gucci or Nike. It is calling our attention to the fact that there is reason to doubt that brand name products are of better quality in every case. In addition, the mere fact that the phrase is negative lends strong support for (a) as well.

That's how you argue that (a) is correct, and exclude (b).

Hope this helps.

Greg