seem to hear

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New2grammar  #514020  Thu, 15 May 08 02:11 PM
Everyday we seem to hear of children beating on one another, ganging up
on the elderly, invading homes, and even murdering people

Why did the author choose to use "seem to hear" instead of "hear?

Thanks!

  
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Yoong Liat  #514026  Thu, 15 May 08 02:26 PM

 Hi New2grammar  

1. 'Everyday' in your sentence should be spelled 'Every day'.

2. I believe the author uses 'seem' because he is not certain about what he heard. What he has written is what he thinks he heard.

 

 

  
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Yoong Liat
New2grammar  #514027  Thu, 15 May 08 02:30 PM

You're right about Every day. Thanks for the answer, Yoong Liat.

 

  
Yoong Liat  #514038  Thu, 15 May 08 03:02 PM

New2grammar

You're right about Every day. Thanks for the answer, Yoong Liat.

 

This is a very common error made by students and even teachers in my country.

The reason is that if you cannot find 'every day' in most dictionaries; 'everyday' can be found in dictionaries, but it is an adjective. (Examples are everyday clothes, everyday occurrence)

If you want to find 'every day', you have to look for the words under 'daily'.

 

 

  
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