live out

[jasonlulu_2000]

This winter is freezing cold. Will the patient _______ this month?
A. live on B. live by C. live out D. live across

I look them up in a dictionary, but still cannot decide on the answer.

I chose C eventually.

What does a native teacher think of it? Is it another unnatural-sounding sentence? If so, how can we correct it?

thanks!

Jason

 

[emsr2d2]

None of them is natural. I would say "live through" or "see out". I imagine the test will mark "live out" as correct but I don't like it. The other three are completely incorrect.

 

[JMurray]

I agree with emsr2d2, another natural form is "Will the patient live out the month?".

not a teacher

 

[jasonlulu_2000]

I agree with emsr2d2, another natural form is "Will the patient live out the month?".

not a teacher

What is the difference between "the" and "this" ?

Thanks to both!

 

[JMurray]

What is the difference between "the" and "this"?

I can only say that as a native speaker "the month" sounds more natural than "this month".
Similarly:
"Will these plants last out the winter?".
"I don't think this marriage will see out the decade".

Having said that, "Will this patient live out the month?" still doesn't strike me as a very likely sentence.

not a teacher

 

[emsr2d2]

I agree that "the" is more natural - I doubt we can explain why (I can't), it's just how we say it.

I don't think my patient will see out the month.
Her cat won't see out the winter at this rate.
If he carries on behaving like that at work, he won't see out the week.

It doesn't always have to be associated with dying. The third example above suggests that someone is likely to lose their job if they don't change their behaviour.