Search results for 'tag:Negatives tag:Prepositions' matching tags 'Negatives' and 'Prepositions'

Re: Fill-up or Fill-out

New2grammar — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:01:27 GMT

Thanks Nona! Does it soudn weird to you because fill UP is usually associated with containers? For example, fill up the bucket, fill up your glass, fill up your tank/car. I would like to know how native speakers interpret the preposition 'in' in this phrasal verb. Thanks in advanve

Edit

Tanit, thanks

My question to you: .Clive said something about 'odd case' and I can't relate that to the rest of his sentence. To me, odd is negative but later he said, both are OK! I detect contradiction :(

I have no problem with Fill in and that's what i hear and use a lot of times. I think I must have misheard out for up. A short sound like this is easily mistaken by me especially the speaker is talking like a bullet train.

Also, fill OUT has a sense of thoroughness that fill IN doesn't have. Am I right?

Re: Preposition: For

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:04:23 GMT

Words have many meanings and uses. For to doesnÂ´t exist in English as one is trying to put a preposition in front of a infinitive verb.This is a very common translation error in Spanish.For- is used in questions about the purpose ,destination beneficiaries What is this for? I left for Mexico. Here is a gift for you. He had potatoes for dinner.For is used in time expression concerning the duration over a period of time. For + length of time (for ages) (for a month, day, year, week, 5 hours etc)For all = notwithstanding , even if (For all I know he is crazy.) For= considering that (ItÂ´s a fine day for mid-DecemberFor = in favor of, on the side of, ( He is for going to the park) or ( I am for the death penalty)But for = a negative condition, exception or absence. I would have got here on time but for the traffic jam.For can be a conjunction: For connects a fact with its cause Mary went home, for she was sick.They are late, for they got lost.Common collocations of FOR: apologize for, blame for, care for, excuse for , fight for, forgive for, hope for, pay for, pray for, substitute for thank for vote for, bad for, difficult for eager for, easy for, good for ,grateful for, hard for, hungry for, known for, prepared for, qualified for, ready for, remembered for, responsible for, sorry for, suitable for, thirsty for, for example, for the love of God. for instance.

Re: Preposition: For

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:02:48 GMT

Words have many meanings and uses. (For to) doesnÂ´t exist in English as one is trying to put a preposition in front of a infinitive verb.This is a very common translation error in Spanish.For- is used in questions and concerns the purpose ,destination and beneficiaries What is this for? I left for Mexico. Here is a gift for you. He had potatoes for dinner.For is used in time expression concerning the duration over a period of time. For + length of time (for ages) (for a month, day, year, week, 5 hours etc)For all = notwithstanding , even if (For all I know he is crazy.) For= considering that (ItÂ´s a fine day for mid-December)For = in favor of, on the side of, ( He is for going to the park) or ( I am for the death penalty)But for = a negative condition, exception or absence. (I would have got here on time but for the traffic jam.)For can be a conjunction: For connects a fact with its cause Mary went home, for she was sick.They are late, for they got lost.Common collocations of FOR: apologize for, blame for, care for, excuse for , fight for, forgive for, hope for, pay for, pray for, substitute for, thank for, vote for, bad for, difficult for, eager for, easy for, good for ,grateful for, hard for, hungry for, known for, prepared for, qualified for, ready for, remembered for, responsible for, sorry for, suitable for, thirsty for, for example, for the love of God. for instance.

Re: Differences between English and your native language

Kooyeen — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 17:38:51 GMT

Hi CB,
I wouldn't know where to start! English grammar is pretty different from Italian grammar. However, there are a lot of similar words (one example: government - governo), and several similar structures and idioms. The problem is that there are also several false friends, and lots of features that are very confusing because they wouldn't make sense in Italian.

One example is prepositions: on the net, on a pc, in a movie, in a dictionary, in a newspaper... in Italian you could use either "in" or "on" (nel, nella, etc / sul, sulla, etc.), and no one would notice (I hope so, lol). I always have to be careful to use the right prepositions in English, in Italian I pick one at random, lol.

Then there are tricky words like "any" and "some", which in Italian are both "del, delle, etc.", so you don't have to choose. The same is true of "few" and "little" (=un po'), and for "already" and "yet" (=giÃ )... and many other things I don't remember right now.

And there are a lot more tricky things, like negative questions (we use negative questions to sound "casual" and "polite", but in English they sound completely different), genderless pronouns (in Italian it's so simple, it just depends whether the noun is masculine or feminine, so death is a "she", and hate is a "he"), etc.

Anyway, don't think Italian is simple... it's really a mess. And there are a lot of regional differences, REALLY a lot. Just think that I hardly ever speak Italian, so I wouldn't say my Italian is very good at all.

Re: adjective or part of a passive

CalifJim — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 02:26:44 GMT

Believer
I have difficulty distinguishing between situations where a participle is used but ambiguous as to whether it is acting as an adjective or part of a passive. Do you have some guideline I can go by?

One wonders whether anything about your ability to use English in either its spoken or written form hinges on the ability to make such distinctions. Recognize that some cases are inherently ambiguous.

Nevertheless there are some guidelines if you wish to 'get into the weeds' of the various types of passive.

Believer
... things get confused when and where the 'by' seems to be almost impossible ... [as in] this case:
The work is finished.

Yes. I think I understand what you are getting at -- although for non-native speakers some of the guidelines may appear to be circular in nature.

According to Palmer (The English Verb), besides the plain vanilla 'passive' with an agent introduced by by (The man was killed by his wife.), which we may call the 'true passive', and the passive without an agent, or 'agentless passive' (The man was killed.), also a 'true passive', there are three other categories of passive -- the pseudo-passive, the semi-passive, and the statal passive. None of these three is a 'true passive'.

To understand the three types of 'false passive' (if you'd like to call them that!), it is first necessary to understand the tests for being an adjective, as enumerated by Palmer. These tests are as follows. An adjective generally can be used before a noun, after a linking verb, with the adverbs very, rather, more, or most, (sometimes with already), and coordinated with another adjective with and. Not all of these are possible for every adjective, but they are generally possible for most adjectives. The following examples show, with these tests, how finished is an adjective.

a finished product (use before a noun)

The work is finished. (use after a linking verb)

*very finished (not really possible, since finished is not gradable)

already finished (use with already)

It is finished and ready. (with and and another adjective)

________

Now for the categories.

The pseudo-passive has no corresponding active form and the past participle is completely adjectival.

The room seems very crowded. (Note the linking verb and very.)

The problem is complicated. (You could say very complicated or rather complicated. You could say difficult and complicated. You could say a complicated problem. These tests show that complicated is an adjective here.)

The semi-passive may appear to have a corresponding active form but is adjectival. Optionally, it may introduce the apparent agent with a preposition other than by, e.g., with or in. It may relate to emotional conditions. It may have negative forms with un-.

Jake was shocked by her behavior.

Roberta was worried about the exam.

Everyone was satisfied with the results.

We were quite uninterested in the presentation.

The statal passive is adjectival. The simple tense is very similar in meaning to the corresponding perfect tense, which (at least approximately) represents the corresponding agentless passive. Some examples can occur with already.

The glass is broken. (The glass has been broken.)

They were married for many years. ( They had been married for many years. Note married and happy, married couple, already married, unmarried -- signs of being an adjective.)

The exams are finished. (See the adjective tests for finished above.)

None of the three types discussed above are 'true passives'. It is often difficult to place a given usage exactly in one of the categories, so in spite of these guidelines, there are still ambiguous cases. Even some of the examples given above might be placed in a different category. Only context can resolve them.

Re: right preposition - Why?

Clive — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 01:34:13 GMT

Hi,

Welcome to the Forum.

I've made some edits, including corrections to some of your spelling.

Clive

They argue that the stress encountered in our daily lives is not only only good for us, but essential to survival.

Apparently, research shows that people can create conditions of stress by doing exciting and risky sports, or by looking for challenges. Such people can cope much better with lifeÂ´s problems.

Activities of this type have been shown to create a lot of negative emotions. People may actually cry or feel extremely uncomfortable. However, there is a point at which they realise they have succeeded and know that it was a positive experience.

Re: grammar questions

Mister Micawber — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:39:42 GMT

1) Are my sentences correct but with a different meaning? I didn't quite get the nuance between the 2 prepositions. Would you please explain the difference again?

a) "The plays had been / were performed THROUGHOUT the next ten years"-- many times /every year in that period
b) "He had acted / had been acting / acted/ DURING the next ten years" -- no indication of frequency of performance in that period

2) position of adverbs: which ones are correct English? Which ones are spoken and which ones are written?

(a) He PROBABLY wouldN'T have met him. -- informal
(b) He would PROBABLY NOT have met him.-- both

(d) He would PROBABLY have NEVER met him.-- both

e) He would PROBABLY NEVER have met him. -- both

3) negative past form of "I used do it"
a) I used not to do it -- primarily BrE
b) I did not use to do it -- primarily AmE ('didn't used to' also in use i BrE)

7) singular or plural:
a) the datE of birth and death is registered / inscribed-- avoid this one; it just creates a conundrum.
b) the datES of birth and death are registered -- OK

8) vocabulary + tense: Would you please tell me if these expressions are correct?
a) Tom feared / was afraid / was scared that that his body would be incinerated once he WAS dead. -- OK

b) To act out (= perform ?) a play
Othello was first ACTED OUT at the theatre in... -- OK

c) early in his career / when he justed started working = a ses dÃ©buts ? -- I don't speak Green.

d) does the word "play-performer" exist?-- If it does it should be eschewed. Use 'actor'.

grammar questions

Anonymous — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 06:14:21 GMT

Dear teachers,

Would you please help me with the following difficuties?

1) Are my sentences correct but with a different meaning? I didn't quite get the nuance between the 2 prepositions. Would you please explain the difference again?

a) "The plays had been / were (?) performed THROUGOUT / DURING the next ten years"
b) "He had acted / had been acting / acted (?) THROUGHOUT / DURING the next ten years"

2) position of adverbs: which ones are correct English? Which ones are spoken and which ones are written?

(a) He PROBABLY wouldN'T have met him.
(b) He would PROBABLY NOT have met him.

(d) He would PROBABLY have NEVER met him.

e) He would PROBABLY NEVER have met him.

3) negative past form of "I used do it"
a) I used not to do it
b) I did not use to do it

7) singular or plural:
a) the datE of birth and death is registered / inscribed (?)
b) the datES of birth and death are registered

8) vocabulary + tense: Would you please tell me if these expressions are correct?
a) Tom was scared that (?) / feared that his body would be insinerated once he WAS dead.

b) To act out (= perform ?) a play
Othello was first ACTED OUT at the theatre in...

c) early in his career / when he justed started working = a ses dÃ©buts ?

d) does the word "play-performer" exist?

A thousand thanks,
Hela

Re: I need your help,please.

Avangi — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 07:36:54 GMT

1. "women" - use plural to match "the elderly" & "are more LIKELY"

2. The goals of our program ARE - use plural verb with plural subject

3. MANY benefits - "Much" is for stuff; "many" is for things you can count.

4. there IS a lot of space (missing verb in clause) & IN which he could write (or) WHERE he could write

5. (wrong choice of conjunctions) use "but" instead of "or"

6. in ALMOST every country

7. is EXTREMELY important (use adverb form to modify predicate adjective)

8. positive OR negative (conjunction)

9. While I WAS TAKING a walk (past tense to match "saw") & RAKING (wrong words - "talking" for "taking" and "ranking" for "raking")

10. to care FOR their parents

11. five LAPTOP TESTS ("tests" is a noun - object of the preposition - and is plural because there are five. "Laptop" is an adjective in this case and doesn't have to agree. It could be a noun if used alone, like "Five laptops were found to be defective.")

12. INSECTS (plural to agree with animals) & I think "fossilized" is the better adjective & I'd suggest using two separate sentences: "insects. Fossilized" & a period at the end

13. I think this is okay. It needs a period at the end.

Congratulations on your first post!

Re: BUT, pronoun, verb

Clive — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 05:59:38 GMT

Hi,

In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word but has six jobs to do:

verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjuction! http://www.englishclub.com/grammar/parts-of-speech_3.htm

I cannot find any examples of but used as a verb or a pronoun in the online dictionary. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/but

Can anyone help me?

My dictionary lists it as a verb in the standard phrase 'But me no buts'. However, I don't really think that makes it a 'real' verb.

My older Concise Oxford Dictionary lists 'but' as a 'negative relative pronoun'. I think the relevant example from its long list is 'I don't doubt but that she loves you'. However, it's pretty odd and unusual. If I were you, I wouldn't concern myself with 'but' as a pronoun.

Best wishes, Clive