"what you have to say"
Hello, there's an expression that confuses me as I'm a non-native speaker.
When someone says something like, for example, "Say what you have to say," does that mean
"If you have SOMETHING TO SAY, then say it" OR "If you HAVE TO say SOMETHING, then say it"?
or it can mean either according to the context?
Likewise, "I'm not interested in what she has to say" means
"She has something that she wants to say, but I'm not interested." OR
"She is obliged to say something that I'm not interested in"?
In other words, I'm wondering whether the phrase used 'to-infinitive' as an adjective or 'have to' as in 'must'.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Top answer
"Say what you have to say" could be interpreted either way. "I'm not interested in what she has to say" would normally mean "She has something that she wants to say, but I'm not interested". The other interpretation is possible, but I think would need some leading context such as "She has to say something to you".
- "Say what you have to say" could be interpreted either way.
- "I'm not interested in what she has to say" would normally mean "She has something that she wants to say, but I'm not interested".
- The other interpretation is possible, but I think would need some leading context such as "She has to say something to you".
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"Say what you have to say" could be interpreted either way.
"I'm not interested in what she has to say" would normally mean "She has something that she wants to say, but I'm not interested". The other interpretation is possible, but I think would need some leading context such as "She has to say something to you".
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