Search results for 'tag:Verbs tag:Interviews' matching tags 'Verbs' and 'Interviews'

Re: Suggest + "not do" - verb pattern

CalifJim — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:34:30 GMT

For suggest as give advice:

I [suggest / advise] (that) he do something. (affirmative pattern)

I [suggest / advise] (that) he not do something. (negative pattern)

But suggest also means bring to mind, and this is the meaning in your example sentences, so the grammatical structures for 'advisory' suggest don't apply. Issues of availability cannot give advice! So all you need is a that clause or a noun -- without any of those subjunctives!

Issues of availability ... suggested that members of the scientific committee might not need to be interviewed.

Issues of availability ... suggested a course of action in which members of the scientific community would not need to be interviewed.

Issues of availability ... suggested a research methodology by which interviews with members of the scientific community could be avoided.

Re: Suggest + "not do" - verb pattern

YoungCalifornian — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 11:33:12 GMT

Tanit
But I'm stuck with a sentence where "to do" is replaced by "not to do":

    a1) I suggest not doing X.                         (I reckon this is fine)
    a2) I suggest not to do X.                          (???)
    b1) I suggest [that] Y shouldn't do X.         (I reckon this is fine)
    b2) I suggest [that] Y [not do | don't] X.      (this sounds terribly bad!)

Your questions stem from the use of the mandative subjunctive, which arises in turn from the use of the verb "to suggest." However, you've complicated things by using the complicated predicate "to do X" in your sentences' subordinate clauses. I'm assuming that "Y" always represents a personal pronoun (or proper noun), but "X" could be either a demonstrative pronoun (or regular noun in certain cases) or a verb depending on your meaning.

a1) This construction is fine if "X" is a demonstrative pronoun, but incorrect if represents a verb.

a2) This construction is incorrect. If "X" is a demonstrative pronoun, the verb "to do" must be changed from the infinitive to the subjunctive and a personal pronoun added so that the sentence reads I suggest Y not do X. This makes the subordinate clause a content clause, which means that the word "that" could be added as you've done in example b2). The sentence will not work at all if "X" is a verb.

b1) While this construction is not grammatically incorrect, it can sound too passive when "suggest" and "should" are in close proximity. Anyway, that's assuming that "X" is once again a demonstrative pronoun. This construction will not work if "X" is a verb.

b2) It may not seem like it, but switching between "not do" or "don't" (i.e. "do not" ) dramatically changes this sentence. They cannot be used interchangably in this context. As I mentioned above, the "not do" construction works fine if "X" is a demonstrative pronoun. However, if "X" is a (subjunctive) verb then "do not" or "don't" (or does not/doesn't for singular third person pronouns) must be used.

I apologize if this sounds complicated, but it's a result of using an auxiliary verb in your example predicates. If you replace "to do X" with a simpler verb it would probably be clearer. Basically, your two options are to follow the verb "to suggest" with either a gerund or the subjunctive. Either way, the word "not" would precede the dependent verb should you choose to make it negative. Looking ahead, I've used the verb "to interview" in an example of each construction.

Gerund: I suggest (not) interviewing...
Subjunctive: I suggest (that) he (not) interview...

Here's the sentence I'm trying to write (it's for a research paper):

1. "Issues of availability, together with constraints on time and scope of the research, suggested not interviewing any member of the scientific committee."
2. "Issues of availability, together with constraints on time and scope of the research, suggested not to interview any member of the scientific committee."
3. "Issues of availability, together with constraints on time and scope of the research, suggested that no member of the scientific committee should be interviewed."

I'd go for no. 1 (no. 3 seems to carry a different meaning ... or am I wrong?), but I am not sure about that. What do you think?
I'm also trying (with little, if any, success) to work out the general pattern.

Both the first and third examples work. The first is the gerund construction, the third is the subjunctive construction. The second is incorrect. However, despite being technically correct, both the first and third examples still sound awkward. Ultimately, I think this is because it sounds strange for "issues" to suggest something directly. Typically they would suggest something to someone. For instance, I think that "Issues of availability... suggest not interviewing any member of the scientific committee to me" or "Issues of availability... suggest to me that no member of the scientific committee should be interviewed" both sound better.

Suggest + "not do" - verb pattern

Tanit — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:30:12 GMT

Hi,

I have no problems with these:

   a) I suggest doing X.
   b) I suggest [that] Y [should] do X.

But I'm stuck with a sentence where "to do" is replaced by "not to do":

    a1) I suggest not doing X.                         (I reckon this is fine)
    a2) I suggest not to do X.                          (???)
    b1) I suggest [that] Y shouldn't do X.         (I reckon this is fine)
    b2) I suggest [that] Y [not do | don't] X.      (this sounds terribly bad!)

Here's the sentence I'm trying to write (it's for a research paper):

1. "Issues of availability, together with constraints on time and scope of the research, suggested not interviewing any member of the scientific committee."
2. "Issues of availability, together with constraints on time and scope of the research, suggested not to interview any member of the scientific committee."
3. "Issues of availability, together with constraints on time and scope of the research, suggested that no member of the scientific committee should be interviewed."

I'd go for no. 1 (no. 3 seems to carry a different meaning ... or am I wrong?), but I am not sure about that. What do you think?
I'm also trying (with little, if any, success) to work out  the general pattern.

Thank you!

Re: Standard spoken English

Grammar Geek — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:48:05 GMT

Hello Milky. Yes, your style remains, even when you post anonymously.

I would define it as the type of English you use when you interview for a white-collar job. The type of English you use when you testify before Congress. The type of English you use when you mean your significant other's well-bred, wealthy parents for the first time.

I would absolutely exclude omitting articles and verbs when they are needed in standard written English. I would not exclude instances when you simply don't have the vocabulary so you use words like "thing" and "stuff." I would not exclude the occasional "um" because some people are not good public speakers, despite their knowledge of and daily use of standard English.

It's how you speak when the know the rules for standard written English and want your style of speech to reflect your knowledge and use of it, and you don't want your speech to reflect your socio-economic or regional background. You are being as neutral as possible.

You don't have to use formal words when you speak in standard English. You do have conjugate, use articles, use proper auxiallary verbs, and so on.

Re: correction 6

New2grammar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 21:46:55 GMT

CBS is airing a new series called ~~Swing Town~~ Swingtown.

I'm not familiar with this show myself, but on the CBS website it's called "Swingtown". I'd probably put "Swingtown" in italics, or quotes, but this is really a style thing.

Good Point

As the name implies, the show is about a town of swingers practicing polygamy.

"Polygamy" means being married to more than one person at the same time. Is that really the case here? Or are they just engaging in promiscuous sex?

You are right. It should be promiscuous sex. Thanks.

The network received tons of negative as well as positive feedback even before the debut.

"Tons of" is a very informal expression that might be just a tad too casual here.

The problem is I don't know a good substitute for it :( Any suggestions?

Due to its adult content, the much anticipated series is put in a later timeslot, a move critics call network desperation as steamy series are often associated with cable networks and movies.

The logic is even though the content is steamy, the network decided to show it and simply move it to a latter slot which implies how desperate the network is. How would you repharase the sentence to make it work?

I also don't really see why steamy series are "associated with movies". Do you mean "steamy content/subject matter"? I agree. Sorry

If "network desperation" is a literal quote from critics then I'd put it in quotes. If it's not a literal quote then I'd consider rephrasing the sentence to avoid the impression that the quotes ought to be there but had been forgotten.

During an interview, the producer defended the decision, saying "If you don't like it, don't watch".

The verb "defend" can occasionally be intransitive ("I attacked and he defended.") but this is fairly rare and doesn't quite work for me here.

I see.

~~Wondering what's~~ Being curious about the lifestyle of swingers, I think I'm going to watch, though I don't like *** films [help...it's shot in the 70s setting...what's the opposite of contemporary or modern] - contemporary or modern??? films are much better in general.

I'm not completely clear just from what you wrote if your preference depends on when the film is made or the period in which it's set. But I gather that this is a modern production set in the 1970s, so I guess you probably mean the latter. In fact, this show appears to be a drama series, not a film. There's a term "period drama" which means a drama set in a past time, but whether a drama set as recently as the 1970s would qualify as a "period drama" is questionable. I'd probably end up saying something like: "I don't like shows set in the past -- I much prefer shows with a modern/contemporary setting."

It's a modern production set in the 70s. I've always thought film included all types of motion pictures such as movies and drama series.

a. a sequence of images projected onto a screen, creating the illusion of movement

b. a form of entertainment in such a sequence of images Related adjective cinematic

Your hyphen should be a dash, but probably you know that. When I can't be bothered to try to enter a proper dash I use two hyphens: "--".

You are the first person to tell me that. What's the difference? Are there two different keys on the keyboard? When to use which?

Sorry for so many follow-up questions. You got many good points and I just wanted to make sure I get all your points.

Re: correction 6

Mr Wordy — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:41:41 GMT

CBS is airing a new series called ~~Swing Town~~ Swingtown.

I'm not familiar with this show myself, but on the CBS website it's called "Swingtown". I'd probably put "Swingtown" in italics, or quotes, but this is really a style thing.

As the name implies, the show is about a town of swingers practicing polygamy.

"Polygamy" means being married to more than one person at the same time. Is that really the case here? Or are they just engaging in promiscuous sex?

The network received tons of negative as well as positive feedback even before the debut.

"Tons of" is a very informal expression that might be just a tad too casual here.

Due to its adult content, the much anticipated series is put in a later timeslot, a move critics call network desperation as steamy series are often associated with cable networks and movies.

The logic of this sentence doesn't really work for me. The alleged "desperation" logically seems to apply to the fact that they showed it at all, not the fact that they shunted it into a late timeslot. I also don't really see why steamy series are "associated with movies". Do you mean "steamy content/subject matter"?

During an interview, the producer defended the decision, saying "If you don't like it, don't watch".

The verb "defend" can occasionally be intransitive ("I attacked and he defended.") but this is fairly rare and doesn't quite work for me here.

Your hyphen should be a dash, but probably you know that. When I can't be bothered to try to enter a proper dash I use two hyphens: "--".

Re: had had dinner

Goodman — Thu, 22 May 2008 22:13:26 GMT

This is helpful information regarding Past Perfect. Despite all that has been said, there is still murky spots . This may help clear it up:

http://icalweb.com/wiki/index.php?title=Past_Perfect

Past Perfect

From ICALwiki

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The past perfect simple is used to talk about events in a past time before another time in the past. It is mainly used:

Â· to provide the background to a past event

Â· to offer a simple sequence of events

Form

We make the past perfect simple by using had and the -ed form of the verb (the past participle):

{subject} + {had} + {past participle}

We did not all pass the exam though we had studied hard.

The Queen died of a broken heart after the King had left her.

The Past Perfect is often used in conjunction with the Past Simple.

Usage

We use the Past Perfect to provide background the main event in the past.

I had worked hard for a long time before I completed the work.

She had attended many interviews before she found the right job.

I had seen the film six times already and I didn't want to see it again.

When we want to provide a simple sequence of events, we can use the past simple or the past perfect with the past simple:

The King died. The Queen died three days later.

The Queen died three days after the King had died.

Retrieved from "http://icalweb.com/wiki/index.php?title=Past_Perfect"

Re: coming across/running into a black cat

Hoa Thai — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:22:35 GMT

Hi,

Regarding unexpectedness, I find come across and run into do have some similarity. Both can be used with either something or somebody. For examples:

1a. I came across an old building.

1b. I came across an old diary in her desk

1c. I came across this problem.

1d. I ran into some trouble.

1e. He ran into criticism after remarks he made in a television interview.

2a. I had come across so many foreigners who have told me tales of the wonders of their own land.

2b. I've never come across anyone quite like her before.

2c. I came across / ran into a herd of sheep.

2d. I came across / ran into an old friend of mine.

In short, I'm still at loss for the exact rules that dictate the difference between the two phrasal verbs. Nevertheless, I sense that people don't use run into with either someone they meet the first time or insentient (physical) objects.

By the way, somehow I feel come across does not fit well with either 1d or 1e, but I cannot explain why.

Re: "Rosa suggested he wore/wear a suit and tie when he went for the interview"

Grammar Geek — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:31:08 GMT

Much as I hate the verb "liase" if the chairperson is making this suggest as a future action, then it's liase.

Re: I am looking forward to (meet / meeting)? you

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:16:41 GMT

I have a similar question but with a noun instead of a verb. Is this senctence correct:

"I am looking forward to the interview."

Search results for 'tag:Verbs tag:Interviews' matching tags 'Verbs' and 'Interviews'

Re: Suggest + "not do" - verb pattern

Re: Suggest + "not do" - verb pattern

Suggest + "not do" - verb pattern

Re: Standard spoken English

Re: correction 6

Re: correction 6

Re: had had dinner

From ICALwiki

Form

Usage

Re: coming across/running into a black cat

Re: &quot;Rosa suggested he wore/wear a suit and tie when he went for the interview&quot;

Re: I am looking forward to (meet / meeting)? you

Re: "Rosa suggested he wore/wear a suit and tie when he went for the interview"