[Grammar] whay do we use (having + to do sth) in the bolded-text?

[nininaz]

Hello Teachers,

..First, a college game is divided into two 20 minute segments,
but a professional game has four 12 minute segments. So college
games are 40 minutes total, with one break in the middle. Pro
games are at least 48 minutes divided into four quarters. Another
difference is that a college team is allowed 35 seconds to shoot
the ball before having to give it up to the opposing team, whereas
a professional team has less time to shoot.

And what is the meaning of 'having to do something '?

Thanks.

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

'To have to' means 'to be obliged to' or 'must'.

"before having to give it up to the opposing team"
"before being obliged to give it up to the opposing team"
"before they must give it up to the opposing team"

 

[nininaz]

Thanks for your reply, But why used the 'ing' form of the verb "have to "? And what does 'give it up to the opposing team' mean ?
Thanks a lot.

 

[Matthew Wai]

'give it up to the opposing team' = 'give the ball to the opposing team'.
Has your teacher taught you gerund?

Not a teacher.

 

[nininaz]

No, And I always have a trouble in understanding gerund and the usage of it in the sentence.

 

[tzfujimino]

Hello, nininaz.:-D

Please go to: http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verbs-gerunds.htm and learn about how 'gerunds' work in English sentences.

:-D

 

[Matthew Wai]

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/verbs/ing-forms

Not a teacher.

 

[Tdol]

But why used the 'ing' form of the verb "have to "?

We use gerunds after prepositions.

 

[Barb_D]

You could rewrite it as "... before they must give it to..." or "... before they have to give it to..."

This is referring to a "shot clock violation." If you have the ball in a college game, you have 35 seconds to try to make a basket. It has to at least hit the rim (or maybe the rim or the backboard) so you can't just keep the ball and dribble, dribble, dribble (or pass, pass, pass) while the clock keeps running. If you don't try to make a basekt in that time, the other team is given the ball and then they have 35 seconds. If you do try, and it doesn't go in, your team can try for the rebound and keep the ball, starting another 35 seonds.

Note the original should have said "20-minute" and "12-minute" with hyphens. It's curious that the writer used "at least" 48 minutes - college has overtime too. It would have been better as "a regulation college game lasts 40 minutes and a regulation NBA game lasts 48 minutes" rather than suggesting all college games have only 40 minutes.

 

[Matthew Wai]

It has to at least hit the rim (or maybe the rim or the backboard)

Including the net?

 

[Barb_D]

You can look up the basketball rules. I've shared as much as I know about this to give context.