Is this answer really correct?

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KEN JPN

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Complete the sentence using the most appropriate word from below:

I ( ) hurry or I'll be late.

a. must
b. mustn't
c. had to


This is a question from
"Basic Grammar in Use with answers Self-study reference and practice for students of English Second Edition"
(by Raymond Murphy with William R. Smalzer )

According to that book, the answer is c (had to).
Why "HAD(not "have") to" is good here?
MUST sounds much better, I think.
If the option is "have to", it will surely match here, though.
Is this simply a misprint?
 

HanibalII

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Complete the sentence using the most appropriate word from below:

I ( ) hurry or I'll be late.

a. must
b. mustn't
c. had to


This is a question from
"Basic Grammar in Use with answers Self-study reference and practice for students of English Second Edition"
(by Raymond Murphy with William R. Smalzer )

According to that book, the answer is c (had to).
Why "HAD(not "have") to" is good here?
MUST sounds much better, I think.
If the option is "have to", it will surely match here, though.
Is this simply a misprint?


It depends on the tense.

Have to implies present tense.
Had to implies past tense.

If you use 'have' you'll be changing the meaning of the sentence.
'Must' would've also been an appropriate choice, because in that structure, it also refers to present tense, the same as 'had to'.


To me, that sentence sounds strange though anyway.

The sentence is obviously directed at a second person, given the use of I'll.

Honestly, I would've had it.

"I had to hurry or I'd be late" for past tense.
"I have to hurry or I'll be late" for present tense.

Given the choice though, 'had to' is the most appropriate.
 

fahimkaldane1991

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Its a misprint because had the answer been 'C', the actual sentence would have been something like this," I had to hurry, else I would have been late." .....
The correct answer is 'A', " I must hurry, else I will be late"..:cool:



Please note that neither am I a teacher nor a native English speaker, but I have finished 10+2 in a British School and have scored Band 7 in IELTS (International English language testing System).
 
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HanibalII

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Its a misprint bcoz had it been c then the actual sentence would have been something like this," I had to hurry, else I would have been late." .....
The correct answer is a. " I must hurry, else I will be late"..:cool:


Where did you get the 'else' from?

'I had to hurry, or I would have been late' is a normal sentence.


Also, please don't use text speak. It may confuse some users, and is just butchered English.
 

KEN JPN

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This is a BASIC grammar for beginners.
So, the book(author) asks for ONLY ONE CORRECT ANSWER among "must, mustn't, had to".

I cannot think of any good context where HAD TO can fit in
"I had to hurry or I'll (=WILL) be late".

If the latter part of this sentence was "I'd (I would)", "I had to hurry" would be good.

I still doubt that answer was a misprint.
 

fahimkaldane1991

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According to you answer " I had to hurry " this is a past perfect tense.

" I would be late " this is a past continuous tense. Grammatically speaking the sentence is incorrect. Your sentence is in two parts, the first part states that the person had to hurry....this means he has finished with the work.

And the second part states that the person will be running late.

yet correct me if I am wrong.

It depends on the tense.

Have to implies present tense.
Had to implies past tense.

If you use 'have' you'll be changing the meaning of the sentence.
'Must' would've also been an appropriate choice, because in that structure, it also refers to present tense, the same as 'had to'.


To me, that sentence sounds strange though anyway.

The sentence is obviously directed at a second person, given the use of I'll.

Honestly, I would've had it.

"I had to hurry or I'd be late" for past tense.
"I have to hurry or I'll be late" for present tense.

Given the choice though, 'had to' is the most appropriate.
 

Rover_KE

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Only 'I must hurry or I'll be late' is correct in this context.

Fahimkaldane, welcome to the forums. Please read this extract from the Posting Guidlines:


You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.

​Rover
 

fahimkaldane1991

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Where did you get the 'else' from?

'I had to hurry, or I would have been late' is a normal sentence.


Also, please don't use text speak. It may confuse some users, and is just butchered English.

I didn't reply with the quote so forgot what was originally written and used 'else' instead of 'or'. it doesn't make a big difference though.

And what do you mean by text speak and butchered English?:?:
Kindly tell me as I would try to avoid it.
 

HanibalII

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I didn't reply with the quote so forgot what was originally written and used 'else' instead of 'or'. it doesn't make a big difference though.

And what do you mean by text speak and butchered English?:?:
Kindly tell me as I would try to avoid it.


Text speak (bcoz) is nothing more than butchered English.

It's also not allowed on the forums, because it confuses the many learners that post here.
 

charliedeut

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And what do you mean by text speak and

It's a misprint bcoz [this is text speak for "because"], had it been 'C', [STRIKE]then [/STRIKE]the actual sentence would have been something like this

We are trying to get people to learn English. Therefore, we discourage the use of text speak (some other members refer to it as "chatspeak"), so that learners will not be confused/misled.

Also, I have pointed out certain things I would amend in your statement, as you see.

charliedeut
 

KEN JPN

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>According to you answer " I had to hurry " this is a past perfect tense.

I don't think so. No "perfect" is included there.
In my understanding, Past Perfect is like:
"I had been late"
"had hurried"


I had to hurry, or I would be late.
To me, this sounds quite natural.
This means the same as:
There WAS a reason to hurry.
Or else, I WAS going to be late.


"I had to hurry" can be connected with
1, or I would be late.
2, or I would have been late.

1 means:
It was necessary for me to hurry so that I would not be late.

2 means:
I actually hurried, thus I was not late.


Anyway, at leat, I think that I have already got a conclusion :
The answer C was just a misprint.
Among A, B, C, the only correct answer is A(must).

Thank you, everyone.
 

konungursvia

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A and B are the only grammatically correct answers, while A is the only grammatically and logically correct answer. C? No.
 

Chicken Sandwich

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Complete the sentence using the most appropriate word from below:

I ( ) hurry or I'll be late.

a. must
b. mustn't
c. had to


This is a question from
"Basic Grammar in Use with answers Self-study reference and practice for students of English Second Edition"
(by Raymond Murphy with William R. Smalzer )

According to that book, the answer is c (had to).
Why "HAD(not "have") to" is good here?
MUST sounds much better, I think.
If the option is "have to", it will surely match here, though.
Is this simply a misprint?

NOT A TEACHER


It's got to be an error, it can't be C. "Had to" makes no sense at all.

According to the UK edition of this book, which is called Essential Grammar in Use (3rd edition), the correct answer is A.
 
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Barb_D

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Just in case you want to blame this on the Americans, I think only "must" works here as well.
 
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