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Which one is correct? (conditional clause)

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Penicillin  #432524  Fri, 19 Oct 07 09:40 PM

Nobody answered to my question.

- If you (face/have) problems, call me.

Are both correct or neither?

Thanks

  
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Kooyeen  #432526  Fri, 19 Oct 07 09:46 PM
Hi,
I would say both are ok. Smile [:)]
What is it that you think could be not acceptable?

  
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Yoong Liat  #432529  Fri, 19 Oct 07 09:52 PM
 I agree with Kooyeen.
  
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Goodman  #432558  Fri, 19 Oct 07 11:54 PM

 

Liat,

So far, you have kept dodging my questions; did you or did you not search under the heading I had suggested? And what have you found? Let’s hear it. If you want to publish finding on one side, you have to do that on the opposite side. You know as well as I do, there are plenty of usages found in main stream media. So for you to be so firm on telling me being wrong, I have this to say.

I hope I am reading wrong about you but I am beginning to raise doubt. Are you challenging me because I am not a native?  True, I am not and I make mistakes from time to time; but if I didn’t reveal my identity, you couldn’t have never known, or could you?  Away from Google, “He is in troubles again with the laws” is not a wrong sentence and  I am saying this with conviction. I don’t need a dictionary to tell me that. I understand, dictionary is your bible and I appreciate that. To me it’s fine for one’s own reference, not for an argument to prove his depth.  If you think I am contradicting myself, feel free. I can’t stop you.  I am not here to make claims that my English is perfect. But I can honestly say, I have strived to come as close as possible over the years, and I am willing to listen to any convincing and constructive criticism. But If you just want to recite what your dictionary said, anyone can do that. Enough said, let’s just say, we agree to disagree. Perhaps, one of us is using substandard English.

 

  
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Yoong Liat  #432693  Sat, 20 Oct 07 12:49 PM
Hi Goodman 
  • All of the BBC
  • Search for: in troubles with the laws (Search all of the BBC)                           

Programmes - Politics Show - Midlands: Public shame

Politics Show interviewed other children in Kidsgrove who say they have never been in trouble with the law but feel penalised.
10 Mar 2005.

Your sentence "He is in troubles with the laws" doesn't match what I found on the above BBC website.

You wrote: "I don’t need a dictionary to tell me that. I understand. Dictionary is your bible and I appreciate that."

No, Goodman, dictionaries, grammar and English usage books, and authoritative websites are my Bible. In Christianity, if you're not sure about something, you refer to the Bible, don't you? You cannot say "Let's not refer to the Bible. The Bible doesn't teach you everything."

You said that Jain doesn't post with supporting statements. Yet, when I painstakingly provided you with what I've found in my dictionary and the authoritative website, you say "I recite what my dictionary said, anyone can do that."  If anyone can do that, why don't you quote from your dictionaries just as one of the Forum's members recently did. And it was a construction discussion, I would say.

You said "I am willing to listen to any convincing and constructive criticism."  If quoting from dictionaries and authoritative websites is not constructive, then what is? Just bulldoze the way you're doing.



  
Yankee  #432724  Sat, 20 Oct 07 04:11 PM
 Onh1986 wrote:

Nobody answered to my question.

- If you (face/have) problems, call me.

Are both correct or neither?

Thanks

Hi Ohn
Yes, both of those would be OK, but I would prefer 'have'.  It would also be common to add the word 'any':

- If you have any problems, call me.


  
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Yankee  #432731  Sat, 20 Oct 07 04:36 PM
 Goodman wrote:
Away from Google, “He is in troubles again with the laws” is not a wrong sentence and  I am saying this with conviction. 

Sorry Goodman, but my very sincere and adamant advice to you is that you should say that with considerably less conviction. Wink [;)]

A natural and correct version of your sentence would be this:
- He is in trouble again with the law.

Even more common would be this word order:
- He is in trouble with the law again.

I would be willing to accept that sentence with 'laws' as a possible, but much less common alternative. 
However, 'be in troubles with' is not idiomatic in the least.  It is completely unnatural.

  
Yoong Liat  #432979  Sun, 21 Oct 07 11:44 AM
Thanks, Amy, for finally participating in this discussion. If you hadn't joined in, some members might have learned the wrong things. I believe, and I think you believe too, that the members in this Forum, especially those who are weak in English, are learning from what is being posted. They will learn the wrong things if we allow non-standard English to be presented as correct or acceptable.

Best wishes


  
Goodman  #433308  Mon, 22 Oct 07 09:10 AM

 

Liat,

many posters have posted questionable answers from time to time, how come you don’t react to them with the same antagonistic attitude as you do me? Is it because of the fact that I always put myself in this “the more I talk, the more I am prone to making mistakes” predicament? Or, something about me that bothers you? There are few authorities among the members on this forum who in my view are fully credentialed to critique my English, I am sorry to break it to you, I have not found your mane yet!  Moreover, even the Bible has variation in interpretation. Can you be so sure that all the dictionaries agree on the exact explanation?  Now that you have posted my sentence on another website and successfully gotten responses from views from other parts of the world, I don’t believe you have come any closer to finding a clear conclusion, or have you? I didn’t think you were 100% sure about the answer, otherwise, you wouldn’t go as far as posting the question on other site. Before I conclude, let me just give you a few more “sites” for your sore eyes.

 

He always wants Doraemon to get him whenever he is in troubles. shizuka.gif (2853 bytes) Shizuka is the only main girl character in the comic. ...
www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/6557/dinghistory.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages

 

No man is the same when he is in troubles [730] and when he falls out of fear into courage. I am afraid that when the one who is going to take this tablet ...
www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0112&query=sp%3D%23158 - 30k - Cached - Similar pagesEuripides, Iphigenia in Tauris (ed. Robert Potter)

He is in troubles for several narcotic law infractions, essentially for the production of seeds and clones and a suspicion of hash smuggling. ...
www.chanvre-info.ch/info/en/Can-one-die-for-hemp-in.html - 43k Can one die for hemp in Switzerland of 2006 ? - Switzerland ...

in trouble/s with

He is in troubles again with the laws. Is the sentence correct? I believe it should be 'trouble' and 'law'. Many thanks. ...
www.able2know.org/forums/about105654.html - 34k - XrSZnEZcCAJ:www.able2know.org/forums/about105654.html+%22he+is+in+troubles&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us&ie=UTF-8">Cached - Similar pages

Amazon.com: Reviews for Something from the Nightside: Books: Simon ... And usually when he is in troubles, either Razor Eddie or Shotgun Suzie are there to help him out. Not that they are friends or something. ...
www.amazon.com/Something-Nightside-Simon-R-Green/dp/customer-reviews/0441010652 - 111k - UQ4WNz3Gg8J:www.amazon.com/Something-Nightside-Simon-R-Green/dp/customer-reviews/0441010652+%22he+is+in+troubles&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us&ie=UTF-8">Cached - Similar pages

Gurtong Discussion Board > Cdr. Edward Lino's Family Are In ... ... Sudan.net, Southsudan.net , Southsudanangels.com and many more otherwise  he is in troubles, because most educated Audicences are always political active ...
www.gurtong.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t1408.html - 23k - Cached - Similar pages

 

  
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