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 #32 (permalink) Thu Aug 28, 2008 14:37 pm Conditional tense I |
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Hi Amy
I think urgency is the wrong tonal difference.
I think "must" sounds a bit like an order, especially if you place the stress on must.
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| #33 (permalink) Thu Aug 28, 2008 14:55 pm Conditional tense I |
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Yes, the word 'must' does tend to sound a bit like an order, doesn't it. Especially with added stress.
Thanks Stew.
If you want to talk more about test-writing in general, let's do it in a different thread.
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Yankee
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| #34 (permalink) Sat Aug 30, 2008 1:44 am Conditional tense I |
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| Alan wrote: |
By choosing 'you have to tell the truth' I am indicating that you 'must' tell the truth -it's a necessity - it's imperative- it's urgent - it's immediate. And that follows from the sentiment in: If you really want to be helpful. Changing the idea of 'must' into 'will have to' doesn't convey the immediacy of what what I wanted.
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On reflection, it seems to me that the will-less version can also appear as a general, non-"urgent", non-"immediate" statement, in the right context:
1. If you really want to be helpful, then you have to tell me the truth [when I periodically ask you about these things.]
Cf. the more "immediate":
2. If you really want to be helpful, then you have to tell me the truth [about what happened last night.]
This demonstrates that the "urgency" relates to the assumed context, not to the presence of "really".
Since no context is provided, that urgency only exists in the question-setter's mind; the respondent has no way of divining what the question-setter "wanted".
(I would add that "really" here qualifies "want", and so expresses the sincerity of the "wanting", not the urgency of the occasion.)
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MrPedantic
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| #35 (permalink) Sun Aug 31, 2008 2:42 am Conditional tense I |
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| MrPedantic wrote: |
| Since no context is provided, that urgency only exists in the question-setter's mind; the respondent has no way of divining what the question-setter "wanted". |
I agree. As the test question stands, it in essence requires the test-taker to be clairvoyant.
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Yankee
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| #36 (permalink) Sat May 09, 2009 4:51 am Torsren said |
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In the conditional I we can use modal verbs (shall, can, may, must) instead of 'will + base verb.[/quote]
It's a very hidden condition HAHAHA
You want to make us crazy but
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 Alfwm
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| #37 (permalink) Fri Jun 05, 2009 3:21 am Conditional tense I |
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| I really confuse to find answer this sentences are very complicated.. |
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Logatharshini
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| #38 (permalink) Sat Nov 21, 2009 14:09 pm Conditional tense I |
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| good job. that was useful test. |
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Mzahed
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| #39 (permalink) Sun Nov 22, 2009 2:05 am Conditional tense I |
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| Good question let's PRACTICE to gather,Practice make perfect..ha haa |
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Yordanus
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| Make vs. cause | Meaning of 'what on earth?' |
