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This question is Not Answered
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Kamo Shushoku
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18845
Sun, 11 Jan 04 04:53 AM
Hello!
Are these two sentences the same in meaning and correct grammatically?
a) Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could do would have been to stay on the ground forever.
b) Because of their heavy weight, they would have had no choice but to stay on the ground forever.
Thanks in advance
Kamo
Joined on
Wed, Nov 19 2003
New Member
29
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whl626
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18846
Sun, 11 Jan 04 05:20 AM
a) ... would be to stay .......
b) ..... have no choice .......
Using ' would have been or had ' isn't logical in both sentences I guess. They should be used for the 3rd conditional case in a sentence.
eg. If he were a heavy weight, the only thing he could do would have been to stay on the ground forever.
Joined on
Sun, Aug 24 2003
Regular Member
882
Learn English every day
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pedant
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18857
Sun, 11 Jan 04 06:48 AM
B is correct. For A to be grammatically correct and the same in meaning, I would say "Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done was stay on the ground forever."
Joined on
Thu, Dec 18 2003
Full Member
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Kamo Shushoku
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19022
Tue, 13 Jan 04 02:27 AM
Could I say, "Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done would have been to stay on the ground forever"?
Kamo
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OrujoV
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19109
Tue, 13 Jan 04 04:48 PM
I think "b" is correct,but not "a"! In sentence "a" you can`t say "would have been",and in general it`s wrong to say that in this sentence!
Joined on
Tue, Jan 13 2004
Baku,Azerbaijan
New Member
10
Thanks for reading my message! :))
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maj,
5 yr 317 days ago
I am afraid this sentence is a bit difficult to understand.
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pedant
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19172
Wed, 14 Jan 04 04:16 AM
"Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done would have been to stay on the ground forever," is an ugainly sentence. That alone is reason not to say it.
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Kamo Shushoku
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19190
Wed, 14 Jan 04 08:33 AM
So, finally, a) is wrong and b) is correct. Right?
a) Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could do would have been to stay.
b) Because of their heavy weight, the only thing they could have done was to stay.
Could anyone explain why a) is wrong?
Kamo Shushoku
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OrujoV
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19222
Wed, 14 Jan 04 12:28 PM
I'm sorry to post this message, but it's interesting of you to ask why it's wrong! I'd like you to look through The English Grammar carefully, and then I think you'll get it, ok?
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