Search results for 'tag:Verbs tag:Affirmative sentences' matching tags 'Verbs' and 'Affirmative sentences'

Re: A sentence..

Anonymous — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 12:52:57 GMT

Thanks, Clive.

I have another sentence written as indirect speech that I wish to verify: 'I said that so do I'. Do you think I can write so or should I write 'I said that I do so'?

In case of affirmative sentences like 'So do I', written as indirect speech do I have to invert the order of verb and subject?

Re: You need only see her. (Is this correct?)

Tanit — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:05:30 GMT

Viceidol

Hi, I know that auxiliary verb "need" cannot be used in affirmative statements, but how about this one? Is this correct?
You need only see her.

Hi,

Let me quote Swann (Practical English Usage, 3^rd ed., Â§ 366.2):

Need can also have the same present-tense forms as modal auxiliary verbs ... In this case, need is normally followed by an infinitive without to.
        She needn't reserve a seat - there'll be plenty of room.
These forms are used mainly in negative sentences (needn't), but they are also possible in questions, after if and in other 'non-affirmative' structures.
        You needn't fill in a form.
        Need I fill in a form?
        I wonder if I need fill in a form.
        This is the only form you need fill in. (BUT NOT ~~You need fill in a form~~.)

If we follow Swann, we can use need as a modal verb in an affirmative sentence when a 'non-affirmative' word (such as only, hardly, seldom etc.) gives the sentence a negative kind of meaning. Look at Swann's last example: the sentence becomes incorrect when only is removed.

That said, please notice this usage is mainly British.

Re: did I / can I/ have I in affirmative clauses

giuseppe80 — Sat, 16 Feb 2008 13:42:15 GMT

Thank you very much for your aswer, Tanit, expecially for the first list you provide.

I had not included these cases:

In formal/emphatic conditional sentences: "Should you need further information, please call ..."
When expressing wishes starting with may: "May you find what you're searching for."

because they are not strictly affirmative sentences. They express a possibility or a wish.

Neither:

In short tags. "I like it!" "So do I"
Sometimes (quite literary) after as, so, than: "She was very pretty, as were her sisters."

because I think that here the reason of the inversion is the opposition topic-comment. ("I like it" is about like it or not, the new information provided by the other speaker is not a new verb, is the new subject 'I'. And the same goes with the sisters: they are not talking about the sisters, the topic is 'her' beauty, then the beauty remains the topic and the new information is that also her sisters are beautiful)

As for the indirect questions:

Sometimes in indirect questions, especially when the subject is too long (cannot think of an example right now, sorry!)

I think it is a simplier way to say them (they become just like direct questions. I noticed that lots of people -- in all languages -- are not very good in using subordinate clauses. They start as if they were introducing a subordinate clause, then put a main clause instead. When I was younger I was hosted by a British family in the summertime. One day my guest-father told me: "What I'll do tomorrow is: I prepare your packed lunch and leave it in the refrigerator")

Re: auxiliary verb "to do"

Yankee — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 00:16:04 GMT

1. "Which day comes before Monday?" would be fine.
2. You do not need to use 'do' because 'which day' replaces the subject of the sentence:

Interrogative sentence: Which day comes before Monday?
Affirmative sentence (and answer): Sunday comes before Monday. (Sunday is the subject of the sentence.)

Compare those sentences with these two:

Interrogative sentence: Which day does Monday come before? (Which day replaces the object of the sentence.)
Affirmative sentence (and answer): Monday comes before Tuesday. (Tuesday is the object of the sentence.)

3. Typical short answers for your sentence might be these:
- Sunday.
- Sunday does.

What it is to be... What is to be

Marcelinx — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:20:16 GMT

My school (I live in Brazil), which was supposed to be a good one, posted in their website "What is to be a brazilian teenager", referring to some project other students had done. It's a weird thing to say, and it seems wrong. Wouldn't it be more correct to say "What it is to be a brazilian tennager".
I mean, in English, sentences have got to have a subject. In the sentence "What is to be a brazilian teenager", "what" is a question word, so it can't be the subject, right? "Is" is the verb, "to be" is another verb, and "a brazilian teenager" is the complement. I see no subject. Also, I'm 100% certain that the correct thing to say is: "What is it to be a brazilian teenager?", but I'm not really sure how it goes with affirmative sentences. Does "what" become the subject of the sentence, or you have to put an "it" to make the sentence gramatically correct? Because you don't say "is raining", you say "it's raining".
To some up, is it:
1) What is to be a brazilian teenager.
OR
2) What it is to be a brazilian teenager.

Re: Questions about "..so...as.." , commas and singular or plurar problems

Clive — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 00:15:38 GMT

Hi,

I'd lke to offer some comments.

- About "...so...as..."
1. The Emperor Augustus, it appears, commissioned an idealized sculptured portrait, the features of which are so unrealistic as to constitute what one scholar calls an "artificial face."
My question is why can use "so... as" struture in an affirmative sentence? Why do you think you can't? There's nothing wrong with the structure. It's just a but literary in style.

- About commas in sentence
1. Scientists have observed large concentrations of heavy-metal deposits in the upper twenty centimeters of Baltic Sea sediments, which are consistent with the growth of industrial activity there
    (A)... (B)... (C)...
    (D) sediments from the Baltic Sea, findings consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the area
    (E)...
     The correct choice in book is (D). However, I wonder why between "the Baltic Sea" and "findings" donot have any connections after the commas? The latter part of the sentence is basically in apposition to thestatement in the first part. Consider a simpler example. "He asked me my name, a question unexpected by me."

2. Stories about air travel mishaps are carefully edited out of news programs prepared for in-flight viewing, since they have no desire to increase the anxiety some passengers already feel about flying
(A) since they (B) because airlines (C) inasmuch as they (D) due to airlines (E) in that the airlines
The correct choice in book is (B). My question is why the sentence has a commas between the main clause and the dependence clause It's optional. Thew riter just used the comma to make the sentence easier to read and understand.

3. Blinded by the sun's reflection, the crevasse was all but invisible until the climbers nearly stumbled into it
     (A) (B)
     (C) The crevasse was all but invisible to the climbers blinded by the sun's reflection, until they nearly stumbled into it
     (D)..(E)..
    The correct choice in book is (C). My question is why the sentence has a commas between the main clause and the dependence clause which is located after the main clauseThe same answer as the previous one.

4. Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War, Horace Pippin, a Black American painter, worke by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movements with his left
     (A) (B) (C)
     (D) The right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War I'd prefer to say 'His right . . . '
     The correct choice in book is (D). My question is why there isnot any connections like "having" before "The right hand and arm.." to connect two clauses Consider a simplified example. "His ink gone, he stopped writing". It's a common, valid, shortened form of 'Because his ink was gone'.

- About singular or plurar
1. Recognizing, understainding, and adjusting to changes in the global marketplace has become an increasingly complex task for mast product managers
     (A) Recognizing, understanding, and adjusting to
     (B) To recognize, understand, to adjust to
     (C) The recognition, undestanding, and adjustment to
     (D) Recognizing, as well as understanding and adjusting to
     (E) That one recognize, understand, and adjust to
     The correct choice in book is (A). My question is that "Recognizing, understanding, and adjusting to..." is plural, why the verb is "has become" but not "have become", and what's wrong if I choose (D) The writer is thinking of all 3 activities as so cloely related that they represent a single 'unit'. Consider 'Fish and chips is my favourite meal'.

D does not so much show the 3 tasks as a unit.

2. Out of America's fascination with all things antique have grown a market for bygone styles of furniture and fixtures that are bringing back the chaise lounge, the overstuffed sofa, and the claw-footed bathtub
     (A)..
     (B) things antique has grown a market for bygone styles of furniture and fixtures that is bringing
     The correct choice in book is (B). In this case, "have grown" should agree with the singular noun "market" or with "Out of America's facination iwht all things antique"? Market. That's the subject.

3. Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring
     (A)...
     (E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are
     The correct choice in book is (E). I wonder the subject of the sentence is "declining values" which is singular noun or "values" which is plural noun? Why do you think 'declining values' is singular and 'values' is plural? Both are plural.

Best wishes, Clive

Questions about "..so...as.." , commas and singular or plurar problems

Nana12345 — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 17:21:25 GMT

Dear,
I am going to take GMAT exam. When I was practising, I met some grammar problems. Please help me to understand correctly about them.

- About "...so...as..."
1. The Emperor Augustus, it appears, commissioned an idealized sculptured portrait, the features of which are so unrealistic as to constitute what one scholar calls an "artificial face."
       My question is why can use "so... as" struture in an affirmative sentence?
- About commas in sentence
1. Scientists have observed large concentrations of heavy-metal deposits in the upper twenty centimeters of Baltic Sea sediments, which are consistent with the growth of industrial activity there
    (A)... (B)... (C)...
    (D) sediments from the Baltic Sea, findings consistent with the growth of industrial activity in the area
    (E)...
     The correct choice in book is (D). However, I wonder why between "the Baltic Sea" and "findings" donot have any connections after the commas?
2. Stories about air travel mishaps are carefully edited out of news programs prepared for in-flight viewing, since they have no desire to increase the anxiety some passengers already feel about flying
     (A) since they      (B) because airlines       (C) inasmuch as they         (D) due to airlines           (E) in that the airlines
     The correct choice in book is (B). My question is why the sentence has a commas between the main clause and the dependence clause
3. Blinded by the sun's reflection, the crevasse was all but invisible until the climbers nearly stumbled into it
     (A) (B)
     (C) The crevasse was all but invisible to the climbers blinded by the sun's reflection, until they nearly stumbled into it
     (D)..(E)..
    The correct choice in book is (C). My question is why the sentence has a commas between the main clause and the dependence clause which is located after the main clause
4. Having the right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War, Horace Pippin, a Black American painter, worke by holding the brush in his right hand and guiding its movements with his left
     (A) (B) (C)
     (D) The right hand and arm being crippled by a sniper's bullet during the First World War
     The correct choice in book is (D). My question is why there isnot any connections like "having" before "The right hand and arm.." to connect two clauses

- About singular or plurar
1. Recognizing, understainding, and adjusting to changes in the global marketplace has become an increasingly complex task for mast product managers
     (A) Recognizing, understanding, and adjusting to
     (B) To recognize, understand, to adjust to
     (C) The recognition, undestanding, and adjustment to
     (D) Recognizing, as well as understanding and adjusting to
     (E) That one recognize, understand, and adjust to
     The correct choice in book is (A). My question is that "Recognizing, understanding, and adjusting to..." is plural, why the verb is "has become" but not "have become", and what's wrong if I choose (D)
2. Out of America's fascination with all things antique have grown a market for bygone styles of furniture and fixtures that are bringing back the chaise lounge, the overstuffed sofa, and the claw-footed bathtub
     (A)..
     (B) things antique has grown a market for bygone styles of furniture and fixtures that is bringing
     The correct choice in book is (B). In this case, "have grown" should agree with the singular noun "market" or with "Out of America's facination iwht all things antique"?
3. Declining values for farm equipment and land, the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, is going to force many lenders to tighten or deny credit this spring
     (A)...
     (E) the collateral against which farmers borrow to get through the harvest season, are
     The correct choice in book is (E). I wonder the subject of the sentence is "declning values" which is singular noun or "values" which is plural noun?
Thank you

Best,
Nana

Re: botton or buckle my belt? and the s in verbs

Yankee — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 16:23:29 GMT

Anonymous wrote:
Hi, everybody I have few questions.

-If I have a belt for pants do I say : "I botton my belt" or I buckle my belt?
Belts usually have buckles rather than buttons, so you would normally buckle your belt.

-Look at these sentences: Do you know how much ~~a ticket concert~~ the concert ticket cost?
In the sentence above, the verb cost is simple past tense. The sentence asks whether you know how much someone paid for the ticket.

Do You Know How Much It Costs?
This sentence asks what the price is.

Why in the 1st sentence the verb "cost "didn't take the s and in the 2nd sentence it did? What are ALL the cases in which a verb takes the s?, What are all the cases in which a verb doesn't take the s? There is an s at the end of simple present tense verbs in the third person singular in affirmative sentences. If the sentence is negative or interrogative, you use does+the base form of the verb in the simple present tense (third person singular).

Thanks a lot for your time and consideration, take care.

Re: I not want/People don't want

CalifJim — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 19:37:44 GMT

Note the definition: Operators are the modals (can, could, will, would, etc.) and forms of be -- and also forms of do or have used as auxiliaries.

The negative adverb not can only be carried by an operator, i.e., can only be used when accompanied by an operator. To negate a sentence without an operator, the operator do must be added together with not. The technical term for the addition of a form of do is do-support.

Operators underlined below. Note the third example, where negation requires do-support because the affirmative sentence has no operator.

Popcorn can be eaten. > Popcorn cannot be eaten.
Popcorn is eaten. > Popcorn is not eaten.
People eat popcorn. > People do not (don't) eat popcorn.

CJ

Re: Do with oneself

pieanne — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 16:29:58 GMT

The nearest to a positive sentence I can come up with is "I don't know what to do with myself, he doesn't know what to do with himself" etc... but of coures, since they are examples of reported speech, they're not positive/affirmative sentences!

I don't think you'll ever find that expression in an affirmative sentence, since it's used to ask what you are doing, so the (positive) answer will use the verb that describes your occupation.