By Clauses, Negatives

Re: Tense in conditional sentence

Hi, N2G,Besides in indirect questions (the examples previously given), if + will works also to indicate volition (or refusal in its negative form, "if + won't" ) or insistence, and, yes, it can be used at the beginning of a sentence. Here are the links to some other threads where...

Re: May and Might

may is ambiguous with can in the sense of be allowed only in contexts where permission might be implied.I may go now. I have permission to go now vs. It's possible that I'll go now. --- may not is even more likely to be ambiguous in the same situations. (This one is so ambiguous to my...

Re: as/so as

Usage Note: A traditional usage rule draws a distinction between comparisons using as . . . as and comparisons using so . . . as. The rule states the so . . . as construction is required in negative sentences (as in Shakespeare's "'tis not so deep as a well"), in questions (as...

Re: mustn't / must not

Hi Viceidol, Going strictly by ear, "must not" works fine in your example, but we seem to use the contraction only in cases where we're warning someone not to do something. I have no idea why. You mustn't be at home when they come. They're planning to kill you. I have...

Re: A short writing about art. Please read and help?

 Oh, thank you very much.could make not only active movements of figures but also balance and rhythm between the black shapes and the white negative space; triangle composition repeats right side up and upside down. This is a clause that does not modify any word in the sentence.You mean that the...

Re: A short writing about art. Please read and help?

A Means to an End: A Shadow Drama in Five Acts (1995) Despite the limitation of color—black and white—and the large negative space, A Means to an End: A Shadow Drama in Five Acts, looks active. By creating diagonal lines between figures, Kara Walker, “a contemporary American artist who...

Re: Tag Questions

Yen, you're colleague should take longer lunch breaks. First, don't remove the comma. It does affectn't the tag aspect at all, but it's generally accepted to put a comma before the conjunction when you have two independent clauses. Even if you omit it, there's no resulting...

Re: until

you delegate responsibilities, you won't enjoy the freedom of being a business owner. CJ

Re: did you go OR did you went

why do we need to change the past verb to a bare infinity infinitive in question and negative formOnly one past marker is allowed within a single clause. The auxiliary takes the past marker, so the main verb cannot. The regular past marker is d, but some verbs are irregular, of course. The...

Re: "I think not any girl is there." Is this OK?

I think a girl is there. I think some girls are there. I don't think any girl is there. I don't think any girls are there. Affirmatives: Some girls are there. I think some girls are there. John is saying that some girls are there. We believe some girls are there. I suppose some girls...