Help But?

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Could you please comment if the following are grammatically correct? If they're all right, is there any difference in meaning?


• I can’t help but thinking about her whether being awake or asleep.


• I can’t help thinking about her whether being awake or asleep.

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healer

• I can’t help but thinking think about her whether being awake or asleep.


• I can’t help thinking about her whether being awake or asleep.

See above. Both of those (as corrected) mean the same thing, although with 'thinking' the activity of thinking seems a bit more prolonged.

The 'whether' clause needs to be improved, however. You could remove 'being'. Or you could change the clause to 'day or night'.

CJ

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Thank you, healer, for the question. And, thank you, CJ, for your answer.

I have a question.

Could I express the idea in this way?

I can't help thinking about her day or night.

Use of whether was making it a unclear to me. That is, I wasn't sure who was awake or asleep—the speaker or "her".

Probably, I wasn't used to such a phrasing.

Please give your views, CJ.

Suresh

vsureshI wasn't sure who was awake or asleep—the speaker or "her".

Yes, you can say

I can't help thinking about her day or night.

The subject of the sentence ( I ) is thinking about her, and the subject of the sentence does that both when he is awake and when he is asleep (or both when it is day and when it is night).

You could say day and night, actually.

If you wanted to say that it is when she is awake and when she is asleep, you would need whether she is awake or asleep.

CJ

I understand, CJ. Thank you.

And, when you suggest that is better to use "day and night" than "awake or asleep", I think you want it to sound reasonable—one cannot think of someone when one is asleep.

Please share your views, CJ.

Suresh

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vsureshone cannot think of someone when one is asleep.

Indeed. Exactly.

I think that's called dreaming. Emotion: smile

CJ

Thanks for your guidance.

CalifJimhelp but thinking think
Can it simply be "help think" without the word 'but'? That is "I can’t help think about..." The 'but' here just means "except for", doesn't it?
CalifJimYou could remove 'being
Do you mean "whether awake or asleep"? Do the conjunction 'whether' and the prepositions 'from' and 'to' et cetera take adjective or noun directly?
vsureshThat is, I wasn't sure who was awake or asleep—the speaker or "her".
You're correct. I had the same suspicion. However my question was on the other part of the sentence so I didn't bother to change it. I didn't make up the sentence. I came across it on a Web site translating some conversations into English. Thanks for pointing it out.
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healerCan it simply be "help think" without the word 'but'?

No, but I think even native speakers sometimes make that mistake. Emotion: smile

healerThe 'but' here just means "except for", doesn't it?

Yes.

healerDo you mean "whether awake or asleep"?

Yes.

healerDo the conjunction 'whether' and the prepositions 'from' and 'to' et cetera take an adjective or noun directly?

Yes, they can do that. Examples follow.

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CJ

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