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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Had better/can't
Hello,
I am doing some grammar exercises to improve my grammar before a test at school. In one exercise the task is to choose which of the two options is closest in meaning to the sentence in bold. When I compare my answers against the key, I generally understand why I have made a mistake but there is case where consulting the key did not help me. Here is this sentence:
It would be wrong for us to lock the cat in the house for a week.
A We'd better not lock the cat in the house for a week.
B We can't lock the cat in the house for a week
(Source M.Vince: Advanced Language Practice)
The key says that the correct answer is B. Could anyone help me understand why B is the correct answer?
Marie
I am doing some grammar exercises to improve my grammar before a test at school. In one exercise the task is to choose which of the two options is closest in meaning to the sentence in bold. When I compare my answers against the key, I generally understand why I have made a mistake but there is case where consulting the key did not help me. Here is this sentence:
It would be wrong for us to lock the cat in the house for a week.
A We'd better not lock the cat in the house for a week.
B We can't lock the cat in the house for a week
(Source M.Vince: Advanced Language Practice)
The key says that the correct answer is B. Could anyone help me understand why B is the correct answer?
Marie
Top answer
Anonymous Could anyone help me understand why B is the correct answer? I can't explain it. B does not mean the same as the sentence in bold.
- Anonymous Could anyone help me understand why B is the correct answer?
- I can't explain it.
- B does not mean the same as the sentence in bold.
- In fact, neither captures the idea of "would be wrong" very well, though there may be a case for saying that A is closer.
- Maybe it's best just to skip this one.
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3 Answers
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AnonymousCould anyone help me understand why B is the correct answer?I can't explain it. B does not mean the same as the sentence in bold. In fact, neither captures the idea of "would be wrong" very well, though there may be a case for saying that A is closer. Maybe it's best just to skip this one. Forget about it and move on to other questions.
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CalifJim. B does not mean the same as the sentence in bold. II can see that it could mean that in spoken BrE, with the appropriate intonation, but if the 'correct' answer is based on that, it doesn't seem a very satisfactory test item to me.
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fivejedjondoesn't seem a very satisfactory test itemI agree completely.
CJ
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