0
Ronald375 Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary

I must be off

Hallo, someone says: 'the train leaves in one hour, so I must be off'.
Does this mean that he should leave at the time of speaking, or that, at the time of speaking, he should already have been on his way to the station, in other words to state that he's already (too) late ...

Thanx!
  

Top answer

ronald375 I must be off = I have to leave ~ I have to go Nothing to do with being late. He may be late, but saying "I must be off" doesn't mean he's late. He has to add "because I'm late" in order to say that he's late, or in danger of being late.

  • ronald375 I must be off = I have to leave ~ I have to go Nothing to do with being late.
  • He may be late, but saying "I must be off" doesn't mean he's late.
  • He has to add "because I'm late" in order to say that he's late, or in danger of being late.
  • CJ
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

1 Answers
0
ronald375I must be off
= I have to leave ~ I have to go

Nothing to do with being late. He may be late, but saying "I must be off" doesn't mean he's late. He has to add "because I'm late" in order to say that he's late, or in danger of being late.

CJ

Related Questions