ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: make somthing +V

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:17:12 GMT

Thank you very much, Clive.

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:16:47 GMT

Hi,

No. It means the house collapsed some time after the earthquake finished.

Clive

Re: make somthing +V

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:45:29 GMT

Hi Clive,

Thank you very much for your explanation.

Can I say

The earthquake left the house to collapse.

Does it mean the same as 'the earthquake caused the house to collapse'?

Thanks!

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:52:14 GMT

Hi,

The earthquake caused the house to collapse. The house is down on the ground in ruins.

Can I use 'leave' instead of 'cause' here as in

The earthquake left the house collapsing. Sounds like the house is in the process of collapsing, ie it's not yet completely down on the ground in ruins.

Clive

Re: make somthing +V

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 12:22:56 GMT

Hi Clive,

The earthquake caused the house to collapse.

Can I use 'leave' instead of 'cause' here as in

The earthquake left the house collapsing.

Thanks

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:28:34 GMT

Hi,

I agree that it's OK to say 'The wave sank the ship', but the whole idea of "The flood sank the building into the ground" sounds odd. I can envisage a ship sinking very easily, but please explain what happened to the building in more detail so that I can picture it in my mind.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: make somthing +V

MarvinTheMartian — Thu, 22 May 2008 10:23:34 GMT

Are you sure? The following example is taken from the Oxford Dictionary of English: "A freak wave sank their boat near the shore." Unless the author meant to depict the wave as a character with a will of its own, I see no difference between my example and the dictionary's. Why then can't I say "the flood sank the bulding into the ground"?

Thanks in advance.

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:44:31 GMT

Hi,

I have a question regarding this. Is there a difference between saying "the flood made the building sink into the ground" and "the flood sank the building into the ground"? Only the former sounds natural. To my mind, the latter almost makes it sound like the flood intended to do that.

Likewise, is it better to say "he melted the icicle in his hand" than "he made the icicle melt in his hand", or are both sentences equally correct? Both are OK. Both suggest that he had intention.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: make somthing +V

Anonymous — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:12:50 GMT

Hi Clive,

Thank you so much for your answer and all your help!

Re: make somthing +V

MarvinTheMartian — Mon, 19 May 2008 06:25:21 GMT

Hi Clive, I have a question regarding this. Is there a difference between saying "the flood made the building sink into the ground" and "the flood sank the building into the ground"? Likewise, is it better to say "he melted the icicle in his hand" than "he made the icicle melt in his hand", or are both sentences equally correct?

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:38:53 GMT

Hi,

Do you mean it is better to say 'the flood made the building sink into the ground rather than 'the flood made the building sink'? Yes.

"The flood made the building subside' and 'The flood made the building sink into the ground' are interchangeable? #1 sounds better than #2, but I think I'd probably say 'The flood undermined the building'.

I hope you understand that if the water just rises around the house. it doesn't mean that the house sinks into the ground. When the water goes down, the house will still be in the same position (unless the water softens the ground and damages the foundations of the house. Even then, the house might just collapse.)

Best wishes, Clive

Re: make somthing +V

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:51:35 GMT

Hi Clive,

Do you mean it is better to say 'the flood made the building sink into the ground rather than 'the flood made the building sink'?

"The flood made the building subside' and 'The flood made the building sink into the ground' are interchangeable?

Thank you very much for your great help.

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Sun, 18 May 2008 20:18:06 GMT

Hi,

Sink' tends to suggest 'into water'. I'd say 'sink into the ground'.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: make somthing +V

Anonymous — Sun, 18 May 2008 19:38:30 GMT

Hi Clive, many thanks!

According to your answer, it seems that there is no difference between 'subside' and 'sink' in meaning in the example

The flood made the building sink/subside.

Did I say that right or is there any subtle difference?

Thanks a lot.

Re: make somthing +V

Clive — Sun, 18 May 2008 18:21:53 GMT

Hi,

Not necessarily. Maybe, maybe not.

Clive