By British English, Clauses

You're probably right, but this is recent stuff (2001), by a (still) young established British writer: http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth22--But it was interesting that Gibbs, of all people, should have been the one to notice it. Jonathan Coe, The Rotters' Club, p....

As a speaker of British English, I'd say those phrases are all high-register / old fashioned. Very few people speak like that and hardly anyone would write like that any more. In spoken word, some of them would simply be ellided: I'm sorry you'd think I did it on purpose. It...

Good afternoon. I'm not an English native speaker.When is it possible to use inverted forms such as "did I / can I / have I" in affirmative clauses?I've noticed that it is possible (and sounds pretty British English) after "only" both as adverb and as conjunction. Is...

Lcchang wrote:Ms. Birch has been working for the Internet provider which is now involved in a case of leaking customer information.Hi everyone,I wouldn't use "who", unless I was referring to a real person. Internet provider usually doesn't refer to a person, but a company, a firm, etc.I wouldn't...

Taka wrote:Bokeh,I would like you to cite what the book actually says.Plus, I wonder what your nationality is.Taka, I am a native British English speaker but that in itself doesn't prove I am right or wrong.Here are a couple of sentences from the book (if you want to read more you will have to...

Teo wrote: the longest river in China, that flows eastward from Tibet to the China Sea. It is also called the Yangtze. In Standard British English, the above relative pronoun "that" should be replaced by "which". What about American English usage?Hi Teo,very good question, I've always...

Hi LiveinJapanWhat does the letter indicate is a sign that Amarin, Ltd., is doing very well? What is a sign? (An interrogative main clause.)does the letter indicate? (An embedded question within the main clause.)that (a conjunction)that Amarin Ltd. is doing very well (that-clause; I would drop...

In the first example, if "have to do" means "have (in hand) to do" or "have (here) to do", in the sense "to have something to do", it's fine. No, it's haff to (deontic have to) that I'm using there. In the second example, and in the first if "have to do" is deontic, there is a slight...

Hello Anon 1. We suggested that he go to a specialist.] Here, "go" is the present subjunctive. Some speakers prefer to use the present subjunctive in a "that" clause after verbs such as "suggest", "recommend", etc. 2. We suggested that he goes to a specialist.] Here, "goes" is indicative....

This is a command and has an implicit "you" as the subject: consider the latest idea from Warner Music Group, .... is the main clause.which is rummaging, like the rest of the industry, for new sources of revenue is a subordinate clause which modifies Warner Music Group. I believe it is correct...