Search results for 'Passive sentences'

Re: Use of 'would rather'

clive — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:04:47 GMT

Hi, " I would rather you paid in cash. " Does this sentence mean that I want you to pay in cash ? Yes, it's a polite way of saying that. Are such sentences gramatically correct ? Can we write " I would rather you pay in cash."? Still polite, but a little less than the above. Much better than, 'Pay in cash, goddamnit'. Best wishes, Clive

Use of 'would rather'

debpriya de — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 04:41:59 GMT

" I would rather you paid in cash. " Does this sentence mean that I want you to pay in cash ? Are such sentences gramatically correct ? Can we write " I would rather you pay in cash."?

Re: Grammar

yankee — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:59:53 GMT

Hi Gleb What Jim has written reflects my way of thinking. The only thing I might add is that I don't view "will not be forgotten" as a particularly "elevated use of the language." People use the passive quite regularly. Heck, we use it so much that a whole slew of books has been published advising us not to use the passive quite so often.

Re: Should I write it in 1 or 2 sentences in this case?

mister micawber — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:48:27 GMT

Please don't double-post. Get your thoughts in order to be sure you have completed your idea before posting. #1-- comma before and after 'for example'. #2-- can't be done that way: the second part is a sentence fragment.

Re: Ten sentences I got from movie I'm not sure correct?

califjim — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:59:24 GMT

are these sentences so unnatural that you wouldn't hear them? No. Not to me. CJ

Re: THAN (few sentences)

alc24 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:42:36 GMT

Are these both natural? He knows how to speak better than he knows how to walk. He speaks better than he walks. would you say both? thanks

Re: THAN (few sentences)

alc24 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:41:15 GMT

Are these both natural? He knows how to speak better than he knows how to walk. He speaks better than he walks. would you say both? thanks

Re: Plz review my letter of recommendation (Academic)

doctor d — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:22:12 GMT

Welcome to EnglishForums. Here are my suggestions about how to improve the letter of recommendation. Underlined words are where I made spelling or grammatical changes to your language. Strikethroughs are where I deleted your original language. Color bar words are my substitute language. I also added spaces to the letter to separate the sentences or the punctuation. Finally, I made several punctuation changes which were too small to indicate. See also my notes at the bottom. I am following U.S. style rather than British. LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION (ACADEMIC) Date : 15/11/2009 <US style is month/day/year. Perhaps you should spell out.> Dear Sir/Madame, <space> I would like to enthusiastically recommend Dr. XXX as a...

Comma + modifier + comma

uktous — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:56:56 GMT

Hi, Someone told me that: It is compulsory to write commas both before and after a modifier. In following 2 sentences, "for example" is a modifier. Are my sentence grammatically correct? Sentence1: I have a lot of achievements , for example, 90 points in exam A, 80 points in exam B and 70 points in exam C. Sentence2: He , for example, is a good man. Can I use "for example" as a conjunction? If yes, do i still need to write a comma after "for example"? Thanks

Re: Ten sentences I got from movie I'm not sure correct?

alc24 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:55:10 GMT

Thank you CJ. I have a question, I was watching a french film and I tried translating, thats not the point though, are these sentences so unnatural that you wouldn't hear them? from what anon said, that seems to be the case. thank you

Re: Grammar

califjim — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:35:48 GMT

For the last three hours he has been playing with his Xbox and not doing his homework. Sounds fine to me. As would this, if you want a similar example with a passive in the second clause: For the last three hours he has been playing with his Xbox and not been seen doing his homework. Here's another I find acceptable. I think you will enjoy this mathematical puzzle and not be exhausted by trying to solve it. CJ

Re: Grammar

califjim — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:26:37 GMT

Different people put the grammatical/ungrammatical line at different places when it comes to judgments about coordination with and . I find nothing unusual about not repeating will in the example sentences; the change from active to passive doesn't bother me, and the introduction of a negation in the second clause doesn't bother me either. Even though both of these grammatical devices are applied, my mind carries the will through to the second clause with no trouble at all. Obviously, this reaction is not universal. I find nothing wrong with ... was in his forties and of average build. Yet, as I've pointed out before, I find it inane to say ... left in a Cadillac and a bad mood . CJ

Re: Questions using "be" and "do"

dokterjokkebrok — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:48:05 GMT

Hi If you're making questions out of normal sentences, you simply have to look at the verbs that are in it. It's not difficult to find out. I am tall. --> Am I tall? (if the verb 'to be' (am,are,was,were) is the only verb form in the sentence, use ' be ' . I smell something. --> Do I smell something (if there's only one verb and that verb is not 'to be', use 'do'. I have been a good boy. --> Have I been a good boy? (In all other cases, there is more than one verb in the sentence. Always use the first verb you come across, starting from the left.) Kind regards Dokterjokkebrok

Re: Grammar

gleb_chebrikoff — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:39:35 GMT

Hello, Amy, rejecting any of the sentences and condemning them as absolutely incorrect would be a serious flaw in linguistic thinking, but we may still make use of these categories (correct/incorrect) when explaining neat areas of grammar to our students - for the sake of teaching expediency. Enclosing into brackets this element or that is important in that it shows what potential conjoins are to be dealt with - in my book, we deal with predicates, but, according to your understanding, the predications are in question. If the latter approach is adopted, we indeed recognise the possibility of ellipsis. However, the stumbling stone in our case is the issue of negation . There is a negated verb in the second clause - I couldn't agree...

Putative should

debpriya de — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:58:12 GMT

" It's funny that you should think so." " It's funny that you think so" What is the difference between the two sentences ?

Re: Articles check

mister micawber — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:12:37 GMT

Passive opening of the sinus entrances and Eustachian tube is the ideal way to equalize pressure between nasopharynx , sinuses and middle ear , but it is not always possible, especially during descent. Divers usually use an active technique which inflates the middle ear and sinuses with air when passive aeration is not possible. A modified valve maneuver is the easiest to perform. It involves occluding the nostrils, closing the mouth and exhaling. Experienced divers also use either the Toynbee maneuver, which involves swallowing with the mouth and nose closed , or a combination of both maneuvers.

Articles check

antonija — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:18:43 GMT

Can you please check my articles here? Thank you Passive opening of the sinus entrances and Eustachian tube is the ideal way to equalize pressure between nasopharynx and sinuses and middle ear. It is not always possible, especially during descent. Divers usually use an active technique which will inflate air in middle ear and sinuses when passive aeration is not possible. Modified Valsalva maneuver is the easiest to perform. It involves occluding the nostrils, closing the mouth and exhaling. Experienced divers also use Toynbee manoeuvre which involves swallowing with the mouth and nose closed or combination of both.

Re: Struggling with these 4 sentences need help with grammar

avangi — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:04:29 GMT

1 Pushing your dentist appointment back a month will not only affect the alignment of your teeth but you'll be pushing the end day of treatment back a month. The less you tighten the braces the less staight your teeth become in a shorter timeframe. 2 My big purchase didn't go unnotice d . I felt it. It set me back , really hurting and really hurt my budget. Congratulations on the short sentences! Sometimes they're what's needed. I prefer the participial phrase here. It functions to explain "It set me back." Your version makes it sound like two different ideas. 3 The jury will pick who they think is the best and wins. I suppose this is grammatically possible, but it's logically redundant....

Re: Please answer the questions.

dimsumexpress — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:33:01 GMT

Maybe I am missing something. Are you asking if the sentences are correct, or if we have suffered any damage in flooding (which I am not aware of). The questions are very unclear and confusing, especially # 3 and # 5. Please rewrite them and we will take a look.

Re: Urgent Help needed A letter for a job, need help correcting it, I looked over it already

doctor d — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:39:39 GMT

To whom i t this may concern: I was contact ed by email about your chat moderator position and was asked to explain why I think I would be a good moderator. First of all, when I hear the word moderator, I think of the word pressure. I can only assume that as a moderator one you must be under a lot of pressure. I've had my fair share of pressure over the past few fews years , whether it was working in an office where I had to satisfy the client ' s demands or working at a fast food chain where client interaction during rush hour , for instance , was one of the main aspects of the job. Being able to maintain composure is also something that I've learned learnt as a poker player and

Re: Ran or run

cool breeze — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:48:07 GMT

Neither sentence is correct. Not is in the wrong place. I should not have r u n is right. Should is a defective auxiliary and thus an infinitive must be used after it. There are two infinitives in the active voice and another two in the passive. They are called (at least in this part of the world) the present infinitive and the perfect infinitive. The perfect infinitive usually refers to the past, to things that have already accurred. It is formed by adding a past participle after have: have seen, have gone, have needed, have run The past participle of run is run, not ran, which is the past tense: He ran away. CB

Re: Passive voice question

clifton horrell — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:57:16 GMT

thank you))) actually with the answers, now i think i do understand. thank you for the help!!

He looked nice insofar as looks were concerned

anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:38:01 GMT

Is that sentence okay? I am trying to understand how to use 'insofar' in sentences...do we simply think of 'insofar' as 'as far'?

Re: Passive voice question

debpriya de — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:22:04 GMT

The passive for " is painting " would be " is being painted ". The passive for " was painting" would be " was being painted". The passive for "has painted " would be " has been painted".

Passive voice question

clifton horrell — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:59:29 GMT

does anyone know anything about passive voice? i just have a quick question if anyone knows it... I can’t figure out how to switch active voice to passive, without changing the tense. For example, present simple tense, “paints” is active, and “is painted” is passive. In past simple, “painted” is active, and “was painted” is passive. In both of these cases, the tense remains the same. What about present continuous (active) “is painting”, what would be the passive? or for example Past continuous (active) “was painting”, what would be passive? Present perfect (active) “has painted”, passive? and how do figure out how to do it myself? even when i'm looking at the answer, im not sure i understand this principle...

Best of or among

debpriya de — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:45:25 GMT

" James is the best of all the students in the class." " James is the best among all the students in the class." Which of the two sentences is correct ?

Re: Whats the diffrence.

debpriya de — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:35:39 GMT

Dear Adeee , You have written both the sentences in the imperative mood. I think both the sentences are equally correct and have the same meaning.

Why can't i say 'i get up early in morning'

kis7385 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:44:56 GMT

The weather is warm in the summer. The weather is warm in summer. I know both sentences are acceptable. then, why 'get up early in morning' is not acceptable? Nevertheless, ' Afternoon is the time I need coffee.' is ok. thanks in advance.

Re: As it walked or as it was walking

mister micawber — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:37:54 GMT

What does 'it' mean? They are very odd sentences. If you give clearer examples, you will get clearer answers.

Re: Am I understood / It is understood

mister micawber — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:36:22 GMT

1. May I know what does she meant by that?--' Do you understand what I said?' Does it show more politeness using Passive Voice?- No 2. Do you reply "you're understood" or "It's understood" when she says "Am I understood"?- No, just say 'Yes, I understand'. 3. "Understand?" means "Do you understand?" -- Yes How about "understood?"-- 'Have you understood?'

Am I understood / It is understood

tinanam0102 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:26:00 GMT

Dear teachers, I notice my instructor has said it a few times in class, "Am I understood?". At first I thought she meant "Understood?" because it's how I would understand. 1. May I know what does she meant by that? Does it show more politeness using Passive Voice? 2. Do you reply "you're understood" or "It's understood" when she says "Am I understood"? 3. Sometimes people would ask, "Understood?" or "Understand?" to check your understanding. "Understand?" means "Do you understand?". How about "understood?" Thank you. TN

Just because......doesn't mean

debpriya de — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:14:00 GMT

" Just because you are young doesn't mean that you are beautiful." I've read many such sentences in books and newspapers. Can anyone please explain the syntax to me?

As it walked or as it was walking

anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:12:50 GMT

Hi. Are both correct? 1) It fell as it was walking south. 2) It fell as it walked south. How about these? Are they correct? I moved the parts that come after the verb "fell" in both sentences to the front of the sentences. 1) As it was walking south, it fell. 2) As it walked south, it fell.

Re: Adverb "below"

anonymous — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:08:38 GMT

Thank you, Mr M. I don't think I can come up with some correct example sentences that follow the sentence patterns I mentioned in my previous post. The two pattern I mentioned/brought out were: 1) subject + "be" verb + adverb and 2) subject + stative verb + adverb.

Re: Adverb "below"

mister micawber — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:30:10 GMT

Both seem odd to me. Would you like to suggest some example sentences? Nothing in particular comes to my mind.