Hi,
So many questions in one post only!!! I'm answering only some of them.
 Newguest wrote: |
Does the phrase I'm thinking of going to Vienna mean the same as I'm planning on going to go ..? |
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Roughly the same meaning. However, a plan is something more definite
than a thought. If I am planning a trip, I might have decided when I
want to leave, where I am going to stay etc.
| Newguest wrote: |
|
Oh yes, of course, I was forgetting: Luke's birthday is on Sunday.
WHY "I WAS FORGETTING"? Why not "I forgot"? (by the way: shall I put
the question mark before the quotation mark or after it?)
|
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Because you didn't forget! A past continuous form is sometimes used to
indicate that an action in the past was interrupted at a certain point
in time. So, think of it as "I was forgetting that Luke's birthday is
on Sunday, but luckily I didn't forget" or as "I was forgetting to tell
you that Luke's birthday is on Sunday, but it came to my mind when ..."
As for the question mark, it must come after the quotation mark in both your questions (it comes before the second speech mark when the quotation contains a question).
| Newguest wrote: |
|
I know that I can omit the pronouns in this sentence: The man who/that I met last week....
However I don't know why I cannot omit the pronouns in this sentence: The man who/that met me....
|
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In your first example, you can leave out
who/that because it's the
object of the relative clause. You cannot leave it out in the second
one because it's the subject.
| Newguest wrote: |
|
Could you tell me what the difference in meaning is between these
two sentences: (shall I put a question mark at the end of this
sentence?)
a) My sister who lives in London is a lawyer.
b) My sister, who lives in London, is a lawyer.
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In sentence a (defining relative clause) you have more than one sister.
The relative clause specifies which sister you are referring to (the
one who lives in London, not the one who lives in Cambridge).
In your sentence b (non-defining relative clause), you have only one
sister, and you're adding a bit of extra information (i.e. the fact that she
lives in London).