http://www.englishforums.com/English/EslGeneralEnglishGrammar-Questions/Forum12.htmAsk your questions on grammar and get your sentence checked. We answer lots of different types of general English grammar questions here. <font color=red>DO NOT post paragraphs and compositions here. Post them in our <a href="http://www.englishforums.com/English/EssayReportCompositionWriting/Forum9.htm"><b>Essay, Report and Composition Writing Forum</b></a>.</font>enXMOD (Build: 3614.32638)http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/4/gcchh/Post.htm#512547Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:512547Ant_2220http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/4/gcchh/Post.htm#512547http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-512547.xmlVincent: Refering back to a post by Goodman: «On the contrary, taking out a window means destroying it. The compound verb &quot;take out&quot; has different meanings. - Colloquial: to take out someone or something means to remove the person or an object from exsistence by force or violence. So &quot;taking out a window seems like a logical use but in reference to window, it&#39;s an overkill in meaning. Cutting out the window/ breaking the window/ breaking in through the window etc... proabably will sound more natural.» So I think it depends on what you mean: 1) Pull/Take out the windscreen, 2) or just what Goodman proposed Which is the meaning that you need?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/4/gcchh/Post.htm#512492Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:512492Vincent Teo1http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/4/gcchh/Post.htm#512492http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-512492.xmlSo, what is the final answer? Can I say, &quot;taking out the windows of the car&quot; ?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/4/gcchh/Post.htm#511967Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511967Ant_2222http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/4/gcchh/Post.htm#511967http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511967.xmlGoodman: «So I am restrained to comment further on the correctness of “were” vs “have been”. But I will leave you this to ponder on...» Thanks for the patience, Goodman. I will keep investigating. Antonhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511844Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511844Goodman3http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511844http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511844.xmlI would say this. Based on the context, “they were cooked” and “they have been cooked” would be understood by most people. I have my own opinion which is correct to say but I am not completely confident that everyone agrees. So I am restrained to comment further on the correctness of “were” vs “have been”. But I will leave you this to ponder on... There are still no agreeable solutions 8 hours after the community crime problem discussion has begun.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511813Sun, 24 May 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511813Ant_2224http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511813http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511813.xmlHello, CJ, and many thanks for not forgetting poor me! «If you already understood the above, just disregard my post.» I have no problems with the simple examples you gave, but that sentence of yours still troubles me... Your version: «But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they _have been_ cooked is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving» My modification: «But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they _were_ cooked is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving» My question (which I hope will be the last :): Are both sentences correct?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511804Sun, 24 May 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511804Goodman5http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511804http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511804.xmlHi Ant222, My English skill is not in the “grammarian” class but I will give it my best attempt to explain it. It may not may not be agreeable with the experts. In many instances during casual conversations, we can bet by with simple past tense and no one will flag you for errors. However, to be grammatically correct, the right tense should be followed and observed consistently. Besides using present perfect to connect events from the past to present, sometimes, we will see past reference combined into a present perfect structure. i.e. John seems to have forgotten who helped him 2 years ago when his lost his job. This is perfectly legal. General simple present statement with timeless reference. I have never seen ...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511741Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511741Ant_2226http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511741http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511741.xmlHello Goodman. «- I presume the &quot;they&quot; you refered to is the chefs, am I right?» Right, and I wondered what _you_ referred to with the &quot;they&quot; in your sentence... Now I see it were the take-outs! «2. But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after it has been cooked is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving (strange to me) –Nothing strange about it» &quot;An hour after they have been cooked&quot; sounded somewhat self-contradicting to me because I couldn&#39;t reconcile &quot;one hour ago&quot; and a present tense. Now I seem to have got it: the cooking is in a sence a timeless action for we can not say whether it is located in the past or in the future. Now that I have arrived at this, I...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511732Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511732Goodman7http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511732http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511732.xml1. But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they cooked it is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving 2. But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after it has been cooked is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving (strange to me) Hi Ant222 1. But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they cooked it is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving . - I presume the &quot;they&quot; you refered to is the chefs , am I right? I guess this is a case of passive or active choice. I prefer to see the &quot;Box&quot; containing the food being cooked than &quot;they cook it&quot; 2. But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after it has been cooked is not very appetizing to...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511717Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511717Ant_2228http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511717http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511717.xmlHi Goodman, and thanks for the reply! Actually, I meant replacing it with the Past Simple: «But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they cooked (it — inserted by Ant) is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving» «It should be &quot;Have been cook..&quot; (present prefect passive)» &quot;Having been coocked&quot;, I hope. (or am I not right?) Thanks for the clarification. «I have tried very hard not to have this kind of mental errors but sometimes when my head is trying to compose a sentence but my fingers don&#39;t work in sync...» I woudn&#39;t worry very much about it becuse otherwise your English is great (IMHO), and such errors take as little as a proof-read to find and fix... «If you feel it...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511714Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511714Goodman9http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511714http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511714.xmlHi Ant222, Sorry about the mental error. I have tried very hard not to have this kind of mental errors but sometimes when my head is trying to compose a sentence but my fingers don&#39;t work in sync so a word here and there is missed. This is one of those. Yes, your are correct. It &#39;s a mistake. It should be &quot; Have been cooked..&quot; (present prefect passive). If you feel it needs improvement, How would you imporve it?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511712Sun, 24 May 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511712Goodman10http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511712http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511712.xmlOf course there is Vietnamese Pho or shrimp roll take out. I like Vietmanese and Italian, especially Cioppino and Languini in white clam sauce. Yum! Thinking about it is making my mouth water...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511711Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511711Ant_22211http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/3/gcchh/Post.htm#511711http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511711.xmlN2G: Forgot to mention soapy water — to make the rubber surround smooth, if you&#39;re interested... Goodman: « But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they _have_ cooked is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving.» Sorry for bothering, but... Is the Present Perfect a typo here? Asking &#39;cause if it is not, then my notion of this tense needs improvement...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511706Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511706New2grammar12http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511706http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511706.xmlReally? So native speakers don&#39;t say &quot;take out Indian/Vietnamese&quot;? I can sort of understand why they don&#39;t associate it with Italian or Japanese because you usually dine in for those crusines. I could be wrong and hope to get some information here. Thanks in advance!http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511704Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511704Ant_22213http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511704http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511704.xmlNo heat emitive devices for my car! The windscreen can be pulled out by two men without any instruments and put back with just a cord which is placed into the rubber tape&#39;s groove and then pulled out from the inside to shift the rubber surround into position. EDIT: New2Grammar: «the flange of the window openning Why do you refer to the windshield glass as window ? Is it considered a window? I&#39;d like to know.» No, windscreen = glass, &quot;window opening&quot; belongs to the window (without the glass). Clearer now?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511701Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511701Goodman14http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511701http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511701.xmlI don&#39;t know why but for some unexplained reasons, when people mention &quot;takeout&quot; Chinese is always associated with it. I personally are not crazy about Chinese take-outs. Chinese food is fine when served in the restaurant when they are hot off the wok. But eating from a &quot;box&quot; an hour after they have cooked is not very appetizing to my stomach, unless I was starving.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511699Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511699New2grammar15http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511699http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511699.xmlI see why you said glass now. You weren&#39;t talking about window glasses. I&#39;m sorry. No bolts involved definitely. But it must be done in a glass workshop because they need to seal the gaps using some heat emitting device. I have no idea because obviously I have never done this though I intended :p the flange of the window openning Why do you refer to the windshield glass as window ? Is it considered a window? I&#39;d like to know.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511690Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511690Ant_22216http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511690http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511690.xml«By the way, literally pulling out a window without first removing the bolts that fix the window onto the window regulator will break the glass, as far as I know. I might have misunderstood your question entirely.» Then what aboth the windscreen? No bolts, just a rubber tape (no idea how to name it in English...). To remember replacing the windscreen in my old Aleko 2140 &quot;Univeral&quot;, and all one had to do was just: 1) Tuck the rubber tape&#39;s inner endge behind the flange of the window openning 2) Gently push the glass out (from the inside), while someone should be outside and keep the glass from falling and breaking... EDIT: This looks like my old car: http://foto-avto.narod.ru/foto/1/1260.jpghttp://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511687Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511687New2grammar17http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511687http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511687.xmlThanks Goodman. LOL. I like the last example. I always hear that in the movies. The bad guy will say &quot;Take him out&quot; when referring to killing a hostage or someone. take out some Chinese. That&#39;s hillarious! The first time I heard, &quot;I&#39;m ordering Chinese&quot;. I was shocked!!! Then the guy said, &quot;What do you want (to eat)?&quot;http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511686Sun, 24 May 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511686Goodman18http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511686http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511686.xmlN2G, &lt;&lt;&gt;&gt; To me, it sounds like disassemble, definitely no breaking, the glass would be intact, one piece. On the contrary, taking out a window means destroying it. The compound verb &quot;take out&quot; has different meanings. - Colloquial: to take out someone or something means to remove the person or an object from exsistence by force or violence. So &quot;taking out a window seems like a logical use but in reference to window, it&#39;s an overkill in meaning. Cutting out the window/ breaking the window/ breaking in through the window etc... proabably will sound more natural. A father may ask his 10 year old son &quot;John, can you help your mom take out the trash ?&quot;. This means removing the trash bag and putting...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511685Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511685New2grammar19http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511685http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511685.xmlSorry. I used window and window glass interchangably in the context of cars because it&#39;s understood that the frame of a car window is not detachable since they are a part of the door. So I loosely interchange them. By the way, literally pulling out a window without first removing the bolts that fix the window onto the window regulator will break the glass, as far as I know. I might have misunderstood your question entirely. Maybe we&#39;re not on the same page here. Please correct me if I&#39;m wrong. (Edit: May be irrelevant Using suction cups or hands to push down a window forcefully but gradually usually will not break the glass. However, the cable will tangle or break as a result and the regulator will have to be replaced....http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511684Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511684Ant_22220http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/2/gcchh/Post.htm#511684http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511684.xmlHmmm. I&#39;d be glad to hear what the natives think... Remember I mean pulling/taking out the _glass_, not the window.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511682Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511682New2grammar21http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511682http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511682.xmlI think to remove makes the most sense here. I don&#39;t think we can literally pull out a window without breaking it.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511679Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511679Ant_22222http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511679http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511679.xml«By the way, how do interpret &quot;take out&quot; in this context? To me, it sounds like disassemble, definitely no breaking, the glass would be intact, one piece.» You&#39;re right, but I don&#39;t know why &quot;take out&quot; doesn&#39;t convey this meaning: «Take out — To extract; remove.» Maybe &quot;pull out&quot; would sound better?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511674Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511674New2grammar23http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511674http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511674.xmlBy the way, how do interpret &quot;take out&quot; in this context? To me, it sounds like disassemble, definitely no breaking, the glass would be intact, one piece.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511670Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511670Ant_22224http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511670http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511670.xmlI wish it were so, but the reason seems to be absolutly mere: in modern western cars glasses (especially the windscreen) are _glued_ into openings to improve the body&#39;s rigidity and maybe they just won&#39;s yield to a sucker... I am not sure though.http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511667Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511667New2grammar25http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511667http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511667.xmlMy thieves weren&#39;t that considerate. I wish they had been a bit more gentle when they stole my stereo. Nice country you live in :)http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511666Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511666Ant_22226http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511666http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511666.xmlGG: «They were breaking the car windows to steal whatever was inside» I think Vincent was right about this one because thiefs often ue special suckers to take windows&#39; glasses out without breaking them. It is possible for cars whose glasses are fixed using &quot;rubber tapes&quot; with grooves in them. The grove on the outer side fixes the tape to the window opening and that on the inner side hold the glass...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511661Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511661Grammar Geek27http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511661http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511661.xmlOne day night, while Ali was on his way to the shop, this is okay, as long as he GOES to the shop at night. I would expect he&#39;d be on his way home at night, and coming FROM the shop, but in terms of grammar this is fine. EDIT: I completely missed &quot;day night.&quot; Please pick one. he suspiciously saw -- Vincent, please stop trying to use the word &quot;suspiciously.&quot; It&#39;s clear you don&#39;t really understand that one right now, and as a result it is showing up everywhere. The only way you can use it is to say he saw the men acting suspiciously . He did not &quot;suspiciously see&quot; anything. Stop trying ot use it with what &quot;he saw.&quot; the parked car was stolen by the two thieves. -- If the car was...http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511659Sat, 24 Jan 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511659New2grammar28http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htm#511659http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511659.xmlOne day or One night? You can&#39;t have both at the same time. I&#39;d say taking out the windows is strange. It sounds like they disassembled the windows to steal them. Are you trying to say they were trying to steal some money left in the car or it was the windows they tried to steal?http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htmTue, 24 Feb 2009 08:05:15 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:511656Vincent Teo29http://www.englishforums.com/English/TakingWindowsCar/gcchh/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-511656.xmlCan I say, One day night, while Ali was on his way to the shop, he suspiciously saw the parked car was stolen by the two thieves. They were taking out the windows of the car to steal the money from the car. He was very scared.