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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Having?
Could someone explain to me the grammar function and structure of "having to start", please?. Is this a present participle? Why do you need "having" and not "starting"?
Here is the sentence I'm talking about:
"He told an interviewer that he changed schools twelve times, losing a good part of his self-esteem by constantly having to start all over."
Here is the sentence I'm talking about:
"He told an interviewer that he changed schools twelve times, losing a good part of his self-esteem by constantly having to start all over."
Top answer
This is not 'having' but 'having TO' which communicates a sense of obligation/necessity. In this case the speaker had no choice in moving school twelve times and therefore had to start all over each time.
- This is not 'having' but 'having TO' which communicates a sense of obligation/necessity.
- In this case the speaker had no choice in moving school twelve times and therefore had to start all over each time.
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2 Answers
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This is not 'having' but 'having TO' which communicates a sense of obligation/necessity.
In this case the speaker had no choice in moving school twelve times and therefore had to start all over each time.
In this case the speaker had no choice in moving school twelve times and therefore had to start all over each time.
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Anonymoushaving to startIt is a present participle or ing-form of the verb phrase "have to start" expressing an obligation.
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