"can't help but" vs. "have no choice but"

[Jexis]

Hello!

Could you tell me what the difference is between the following sentences?

• I have no choice but to agree with her.
• I can't help but agree with her.

If they mean basically the same thing, are there situations where one is more appropriate than the other?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

If you want to be extremely (or overly) literal, you could say that the first suggests that you're being coerced, while in the second, you're being guided by instinct, common sense, or experience.

But for practical purposes, the only big difference is that the second is more likely and more natural.

 

[emsr2d2]

And "I [would] have to agree with her" is even more common.

 

[GoesStation]

And "I [would] have to agree with her" is even more common.

I couldn't swear to it, but I think that "I can't help but agree with her" is more common in my region. We use "but" quite often in nonstandard phrases like "there ain't but a little left," and I think that predisposes us to favor it in general.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I couldn't swear to it, but I think that "I can't help but agree with her" is more common in my region. We use "but" quite often in nonstandard phrases like "there ain't but a little left," and I think that predisposes us to favor it in general.

Yup. It's the same throughout the US.

 

[Phaedrus]

• I can't help but agree with her.

The "can't help but V" construction is believed to be a hybrid of the more traditional "can't help V-ing" (preferred by many) and "can't but V" constructions.

(1) I cannot help agreeing with her.
(2) I cannot but agree with her.
(3) I cannot help but agree with her.

When I feel inclined to use the idiomatic "can't help but V" construction in writing, I generally edit it to "can't help V-ing." "Can't but V" is rare these days.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I couldn't swear to it, but I think that "I can't help but agree with her" is more common in my region. We use "but" quite often in nonstandard phrases like "there ain't but a little left," and I think that predisposes us to favor it in general.

PS -

But personally, I vastly prefer "She's right."