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Contraposition Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary

How many times do I have to tell you?

How many times do I have to tell you?

Is 'how many times' the object of 'have'?
  

Top answer

No, there is no object of "have". "have to" is an idiomatic combination meaning "be forced/obliged to". "How many times" is adverbial.

— GPY

  • No, there is no object of "have".
  • "have to" is an idiomatic combination meaning "be forced/obliged to".
  • "How many times" is adverbial.
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6 Answers
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No, there is no object of "have". "have to" is an idiomatic combination meaning "be forced/obliged to".

"How many times" is adverbial.
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It is an object of "tell."
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teechrIt is an object of "tell."
I'm afraid I can't see that. "How many times" refers to the frequency with which "I have to tell you" occurs.
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GPYI'm afraid I can't see that. "How many times" refers to the frequency with which "I have to tell you" occurs.
I agree.

This is an example of "time" as an object of "tell:"
I have to tell you the time every few minutes, because I know you have to leave for your next appointment.
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GPYI'm afraid I can't see that.
You're right; it's an adverbial.
Emotion: yes
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contraposition How many times do I have to tell you?Is 'how many times' the object of 'have'?
By the way, an example of a superficially similar-looking sentence with that sort of structure would be:

"How many days do I have to finish my essay?"

So, basically you have to figure out from the context whether "have to" is the "be obliged to" mean
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