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Mike2015 Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

I'm gonna have to ask you to remain calm

Hello teachers,

In a movie I came across a structure that is totally new to me.

In a police station, a police officer is interrogating two suspects. He tells this following sentence to one of them.

Sir, "I'm gonna have to ask you to remain calm".

What's the meaning of this whole sentence?

What's the meaning of " I'm gonna have to"? Why not " I have to ask you....etc?

This structure makes no sense to me.

Thanks a lot in advance.
  

Top answer

". A true future use would be "I'm going to have to get up very early tomorrow morning". In your example, though, it is doubtful that the speaker truly means it as future tense.

— GPY

  • ".
  • A true future use would be "I'm going to have to get up very early tomorrow morning".
  • In your example, though, it is doubtful that the speaker truly means it as future tense.
  • In fact, the speaker is effectively asking it right now.
  • Instead, it is used as a device for slightly softening or distancing the statement "I have to ask you to remain calm" (which is itself already a distanced or less direct version of "Please remain calm").
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15 Answers
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Literally, "I'm going to have to ..." is a future "tense" (not strictly a tense) of "I have to ...". A true future use would be "I'm going to have to get up very early tomorrow morning". In your example, though, it is doubtful that the speaker truly means it as future tense. In fact, the speaker is effectively asking it right now. Instead, it is used as a device for slightly softening or distancin
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Mike2015a police officer is interrogating two suspects
Is the person being addressed very agitated? It seems that would be the situation in which the 'remain calm' sentence would be used.

CJ
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Thank you very much indeed for your professional explanation.
Is it used as a gentle order? Is it used to prevent offending people?
Would you possibly gave some examples to clarify it further?
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The police officer is quite angry
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Mike2015The police officer is quite angry.
OK, but I asked about the other person. How is the person who is being questioned by the officer? Very nervous? Calm? Screaming? Quiet?

CJ
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The person who is being questioned, is very loud and talkative.
There are two suspects in the police station and one of them is almost quiet them other is talkative and loud.
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Mike2015The person who is being questioned is very loud and talkative.
(No comma.)
_________

That makes sense. This is the only situation I can imagine where it makes sense to say I'm going to have to ask you ....

It implies that the person being questioned is starting to get out of hand
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Actually I should add that the police officer said that in a harsh tone as if he was threatening him.

So, (I'm going to have to...etc) is an emphatic and alarming order?
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Would you possibly gave some examples that this structure is used?
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Mike2015So, (I'm going to have to...etc) is an emphatic and alarming order?
It's the preface to such an order. It's what comes next that's the real order, of course.

And no, it's not always used that way. It was only the situation you described that alerted me to the fact that it was being used that way in this instance. There are far more benign u
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