Right tense & form

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Hela

#157568 Fri, 11 Nov 05 07:20 PM

Dear teachers,

Here's an exercise that I wish to be corrected, please.

Fill in the blanks with the right tense and form.

It was high time. Snow (1) (fall) had FALLEN in the morning, but now the sky was clear and Ashenden, with a glance at the frosty stars, stepped out quickly. He feared that Herbatus, tired of waiting for him, (2) (modal + go) would go home. He had at this interview to make a certain decision and the hesitation he (3) (feel) had felt about it (4) (lurk) had been lurking throughout the evening at the back of his mind like a malaise that (5) (modal + only + become) needed / had only to become (??) / should only become (I have no idea!)a bit more definite to (6) (feel) be felt as pain. For Herbatus, indefatigable and determined, (7) (engage) had engaged in the arrangement of a scheme to blow up certain munition factories in Austria. It is not necessary to give here the details of his plan, but it was ingenious and effective; its drawback was that it entailed the death and mutilation of a good many Galician Poles, his fellow countrymen, who were working in the factories in question. He had told Ashenden earlier in the day that everything (8) (be) had to be ready and he had only to give the word.
"But please do not give it (9) up it is essential", he said in his precise somewhat throaty English. "Of course we (10) (not hesitate) will / shall not hesitate if it is necessary, but we do not want to sacrifice our (11) own (?) people for nothing."
"When you (12) (want) do you want an answer?"
"Tonight. We have got someone starting for Prague tomorrow morning."
Ashenden had qualms and he was conscious that it (13) (be) would be a relief if on reaching the hotel he found that Herbatus had left. The Germans had blown up factories in the Allied countries and there was no reasonwhy they (14) (modal + not + serve) should not serve in the same manner. It was a legitimate act of war. It not only hindered the manufacture of arms and munitions, but it also shook the morale of the non-combatants. It was not of course a thing the big-wigs cared to have anything to do (15) with. Though ready enough to profit by (correct ?) the activities of obscure agents of (16) whom they had never heard, they shut their eyes to dirty work so that they could put their clean hands on their hearts and congratulate (17) one another that they had never done anything that was unbecoming to men of honour.

Thank you very much for your help.
Hela

Hela

Joined on Mon, Nov 15 2004

Tunisia

Regular Member (831)

Tenses, Modals, Whom, Interviews

CalifJim

#157577 Fri, 11 Nov 05 07:49 PM

Almost all of these are fine.

1. had fallen
3. felt (I have the impression the interview is about to happen, not that it has already happened.)
5. [needed/had] only to become (not "should")
I would say "profit from", but "profit by" does not seem objectionable either.

The rest looks perfect to me.

CJ

CalifJim

Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004

California

Veteran Member (17,765)

"There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche

Tenses, Interviews

Hela

#157582 Fri, 11 Nov 05 07:56 PM

Thank you Jim. I know I've made a HUGE mistake on the first one. Embarrassed [:$] I tried to correct it but it didn't work.

In #5 what do you think of needn't only become?

In #8 what do you think of would be or had to be ready?

All the best,

Hela

Tenses

CalifJim

#157736 Sat, 12 Nov 05 08:29 AM

Hela,
5. What do I think of "needn't only become"? I think, "Non, non, non. Jamais, jamais!!" Smile [:)]

8. "would be" or "had to be" (which you had first) are both possible.
Jim

CalifJim

Tenses

Hela

#157811 Sat, 12 Nov 05 03:26 PM

Hi, Jim

Do you think that #14 should be in the passive?

"The Germans had blown up factories in the Allied countries and there was no reason why they (14) (modal + not + serve) should not be served in the same manner."

And what about "unless" in #9?

"But please do not give it (9) up / unless it is essential"?

I haven't got the original text yet, but if I do [correct auxiliary?] I'll let you know.

Have a nice weekend,

Hela

Tenses, Auxiliaries, Modals

CalifJim

#158057 Sun, 13 Nov 05 10:01 AM

On rereading it, I think the passive is possible for 14. I'm more used to hearing "should not be treated in the same manner". I rarely hear the verb "serve" in that context, so I was a bit thrown by it!

"Please do not give it up unless it is essential" is possible.
So is "Please do not give it up because it is essential".

"I haven't got the original text yet, but if I do, I'll let you know." - Correct. "got" meaning "found".
"I haven't found the original text yet, but if I do, I'll let you know." - Better, in my opinion.
OR:
"I haven't got the original text yet, but when I do, I'll let you know." - Also better. "haven't got" meaning "don't have". You can't say "if I do" after you've said that you don't! That may be why you asked this question in the first place.

Also, 8 can be "was".

CJ

CalifJim

Verbs, Tenses

MrPedantic

#158083 Sun, 13 Nov 05 01:11 PM

CalifJim wrote:
OR:
"I haven't got the original text yet, but when I do, I'll let you know."

In BrE, it would be: "...but when I have, I'll let you know".

Though the "do" version is becoming common.

MrP

MrPedantic

Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004

Veteran Member (12,168)

...opella forensis / adducit febris...

Tenses

Hela

#158222 Sun, 13 Nov 05 07:09 PM

Thank you VERY much, Jim and MrP. Smile [:)]

If I asked the question is that I had the feeling that syntactically the auxiliaries "have" in the first clause and "do" in the second were incompatible. But at the same time it didn't sound odd to me.

Best wishes,

Hela

Tenses, Clauses, Auxiliaries

CalifJim

#158270 Sun, 13 Nov 05 10:57 PM

MrP,

Yes, indeed. Thanks for pointing it out. I twisted my "don't have"s and "haven't got"s. Embarrassed [:$]

Corrected version:
I haven't got the original text yet, but when I have, I'll let you know.

The (slightly) more American version is:
I don't have the original text yet, but when I do, I'll let you know.

CJ

CalifJim

Tenses

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