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iloveyou
Joined: 05 Aug 2006
Posts: 72
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 Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 3:15 am Post subject: must (when it is used to express a guess) |
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Hello,
I know 'must' is used to express a certain guess like..." You must be tired"
Can I use 'must' in the following sentence?
Sounds awkward to me...
If you don't study, you must fail the exam.
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dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2009 9:33 am Post subject: |
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| If you don't study, you must fail the exam. |
Not just awkward...wrong. The problem is that it makes it sound like failing the exam is something the person will be forced to do deliberately, which makes no sense.
It does, however, work in a conditional like this:
"If you don't pass the exam, you must repeat the course."
Repeating the course is something the person will have to do.
Greg |
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