 #16 (permalink) Fri Oct 02, 2009 16:58 pm Question: I had to do it -- did I...? |
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Hello Avance,
No, you could use either "Did you kill her?" or "Did you have to kill her?" in that context.
"Did you kill her?" is simply a much more basic, less nuanced question -- "kill: yes or no?"
A simple "Yes" response to that question would provide no information about whether killing her was necessary or unnecessary, or whether killing her was accidental or intentional, etc. It's completely "black and white", with no shades of meaning.
If you killed her because it was necessary (i.e. because you had to), it would also seem logical that it was probably intentional (nuance).
Asking "Did you have to kill her?" in any context would mean that the speaker has focused either on the necessity of your actually having killed her OR on the necessity of your possibly having killed her. The broader context and/or intonation will make it clear whether or not the speaker already knows that you killed her.
Please keep this in mind:
| Esl_Expert wrote: |
| Sentences normally do not occur in a vacuum. Context always plays a role. |
| Cerberus™ wrote: |
| Context may twist the meaning of anything |
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"In common use almost every word has many shades of meaning, and therefore needs to be interpreted by the context." ~ Alfred Marshall |
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 Esl_Expert
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 977
Location: USA
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