Sufficient & Necessary Questions Question 39

If there are any inspired performances in the concert, the audience will be treated to a good show. But there will n...

miriamelise on December 15, 2020

If versus To Be

When I began diagramming for this question, I was really confused as to how to diagram for "and to be a sophisticated listener one must understand one's musical roots". I really want to avoid being trapped by this issue. Is it fair to assume that the phrase "to be" is similar to "if" in that it signals a sufficient condition?

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shunhe on January 3, 2021

Hi @miriamelise,

Thanks for the question! So it’s not the “if” and the “to be” that make you diagram this statement the way that you do. It’s the fact that “must” indicates the necessary condition (after all, when you say that something “must” be the way that it is, it’s also necessary that it is the way that it is). So what it’s really saying is that “if you’re a sophisticated listener, then you understand your musical roots,” because to be a sophisticated listener you MUST understand your musical roots.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any other questions that you might have.