grammar questions

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Anonymous

#452303 Wed, 12 Dec 07 06:14 AM

Dear teachers,

Would you please help me with the following difficuties?

1) Are my sentences correct but with a different meaning? I didn't quite get the nuance between the 2 prepositions. Would you please explain the difference again?

a) "The plays had been / were (?) performed THROUGOUT / DURING the next ten years"
b) "He had acted / had been acting / acted (?) THROUGHOUT / DURING the next ten years"

2) position of adverbs: which ones are correct English? Which ones are spoken and which ones are written?

(a) He PROBABLY wouldN'T have met him.
(b) He would PROBABLY NOT have met him.

(d) He would PROBABLY have NEVER met him.

e) He would PROBABLY NEVER have met him.

3) negative past form of "I used do it"
a) I used not to do it
b) I did not use to do it

7) singular or plural:
a) the datE of birth and death is registered / inscribed (?)
b) the datES of birth and death are registered

8) vocabulary + tense: Would you please tell me if these expressions are correct?
a) Tom was scared that (?) / feared that his body would be insinerated once he WAS dead.

b) To act out (= perform ?) a play
Othello was first ACTED OUT at the theatre in...

c) early in his career / when he justed started working = a ses débuts ?

d) does the word "play-performer" exist?

A thousand thanks,
Hela

Anonymous

Adverbs, Dates, Expressions, Grammar, Negatives, Plurals, Prepositions, Tenses, Verbs, Vocabulary

Mister Micawber

#452365 Wed, 12 Dec 07 10:39 AM

1) Are my sentences correct but with a different meaning? I didn't quite get the nuance between the 2 prepositions. Would you please explain the difference again?

a) "The plays had been / were performed THROUGHOUT the next ten years"-- many times /every year in that period
b) "He had acted / had been acting / acted/ DURING the next ten years" -- no indication of frequency of performance in that period

2) position of adverbs: which ones are correct English? Which ones are spoken and which ones are written?

(a) He PROBABLY wouldN'T have met him. -- informal
(b) He would PROBABLY NOT have met him.-- both

(d) He would PROBABLY have NEVER met him.-- both

e) He would PROBABLY NEVER have met him. -- both

3) negative past form of "I used do it"
a) I used not to do it -- primarily BrE
b) I did not use to do it -- primarily AmE ('didn't used to' also in use i BrE)

7) singular or plural:
a) the datE of birth and death is registered / inscribed-- avoid this one; it just creates a conundrum.
b) the datES of birth and death are registered -- OK

8) vocabulary + tense: Would you please tell me if these expressions are correct?
a) Tom feared / was afraid / was scared that that his body would be incinerated once he WAS dead. -- OK

b) To act out (= perform ?) a play
Othello was first ACTED OUT at the theatre in... -- OK

c) early in his career / when he justed started working = a ses débuts ? -- I don't speak Green.

d) does the word "play-performer" exist?-- If it does it should be eschewed. Use 'actor'.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

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'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' . 'A fabis abstineto' - Anon

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Anonymous

#452600 Thu, 13 Dec 07 01:05 AM

One more question please:

If in the present we have :
He IS scared lest the corpse BE removed

what should we have in the past?
He WAS scared lest the corpse WERE removed?

Thanks again for your help
Hela

Anonymous

Grammar

Mister Micawber

#452628 Thu, 13 Dec 07 04:05 AM

Lest 'tends to have a modal auxiliary or (esp in AmE) the present subjunctive' (Quirk, et al. 15.48)

He was scared lest the corpse be / should be removed.

Mister Micawber

Auxiliaries, Grammar, Modal auxiliaries, Modals, Subjunctives