can't help; can't be helped; have no choice

Question

Please, could you answer to these doubts of mine?:A.- Are these sentences correct written?:1.- David tries to be serious but he can’t help laughing.2.- David tries to be serious but he can’t be helped to not laugh.3.- David tries to be serious but he can’t be helped not laughing.B.- Are these sentences correct written?:4.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t help laughing.5.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t be helped to not laugh.6.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t be helped not laughing.C.- How to put a sentence with can't help and can't be helped in future? (Maybe with "to be able to", how?)D.- Are these sentences correct written?:7.- David tries to be serious but he has no choice but to laugh.8.- David tries to be serious but he has no choice but laughing.9.- David tries to be serious but he hasn’t another choice but to laugh.10.- David tries to be serious but he hasn’t another choice but laughing.E.- Are these sentences correct written?:11.- I would have no choice but to fire you.12.- I would have no choice but firing you.13.- I wouldn’t have another choice but to fire you.14.- I wouldn’t have another choice but firing you.And thank you in advance,Eladio

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

Are these sentences correctly written?

Old Eladio · Answer

Old EladioPlease, could you answer to these doubts of mine?:

A.- Are these sentences correctly written?:

1.- David tries to be serious but he can’t help laughing.

2.- David tries to be serious but he can’t be helped to not laugh.

3.- David tries to be serious but he can’t be helped not laughing.

B.- Are these sentences correctly written?:

4.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t help laughing.

5.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t be helped to not laugh.

6.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t be helped not laughing.

C.- How to put a sentence with can't help and can't be helped in future? (Maybe with "to be able to", how?)

D.- Are these sentences correctly written?:

7.- David tries to be serious but he has no choice but to laugh.

8.- David tries to be serious but he has no choice but laughing.

9.- David tries to be serious but he hasn’t another choice but to laugh.

10.- David tries to be serious but he hasn’t another choice but laughing.

E.- Are these sentences correctly written?:

11.- I would have no choice but to fire you.

12.- I would have no choice but firing you.

13.- I wouldn’t have another choice but to fire you.

14.- I wouldn’t have another choice but firing you.

And thank you in advance,

Eladio

Cool Breeze · Answer

Nos. 1, 4 and 11 are correct. No. 7 is grammatically correct but a native speaker would probably find it unidiomatic.

You can put can't help doing in the future tense using be able:

I won't be able to help laughing when I meet him tomorrow.

Here are some other useful expressions which you can use instead of can't help doing:

I couldn't but smile when I saw him.
I couldn't help but smile when I saw him.

Cheers
CB

Old Eladio · Answer

Thank you Cool breeze. Please, what about if I write the following sentences. Are they then correctly written?:

2.- David tries to be serious but he can’t be helped to laugh.

3.- David tries to be serious but he can’t be helped laughing.

5.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t be helped to laugh.

6.- David tried to be serious but he couldn’t be helped laughing.

Cool breeze, would you be so kind to explain why the word "another" makes incorrect this sentence? And thank you again!!

9.- David tries to be serious but he hasn’t another choice but to laugh.
Eladio

Cool Breeze · Answer

Hi Old Eladio

I am not quite sure what you are trying to say with your sentences that contain can't be helped or couldn't be helped. Structurally, they are in the passive voice. If you say: He can't be seen, it means that no one can see him. Maybe you had better forget the expressions.

In No.9 everything is grammatically correct, that's true. However, the fact is that native speakers don't use another choice but to. You can't take very many liberties with the English language. The word order is very rigid and very often you have a very limited choice of words at your disposal although English has an extremely large vocabulary. There is no other reason. If you say sentence No. 9 to a native speaker, he will understand you, though.

Cheers
CB

PS Greetings to Havana. I've been there. I visited your home town about 15 years ago. There was a huge open-air night club called Tropicana or something, I think.

Old Eladio · Answer

Cool Breeze, it seems to be that my problem with "can't be helped" and "couldn' be helped" is that I have a very old dictionary that translate a common phrase used in Spanish ("no tengo otro remedio que...") as I've just wrote, in passive. This dictionary does not mention "can't help" nor "couldn't help" which I've found in Longman's Dictionary, an excellent book I believe, and modern one. My main doubt with my sentences however is not these passive forms offered by the old dictionary, but if I have to use "ing" in the verb that follows the forms "can't help" and "couldn't help". Now I know that yes, I have to use it!

Related to your visit to my city, I'm glad that you have enjoyed it, and Tropicana too; a place not very much loved by me, because our "mulatas" are exhibited almost naked. It a place conceived for tourists. it just a point of view from an Old Eladio man. But anyway, as you say: Live and let live. I like it!

And thank you again!

Eladio

can't help; can't be helped; have no choice

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions