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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
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 Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:31 pm Post subject: A question |
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OK here is the background.
You have something and you no longer have it.(my flatmate moved out and took one of the cats with her)
what do say?
I miss not having .......
or
I miss ............
I'd say the former but my g/f says the latter. Is this a British English/ N. American English thing? |
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FGT
Joined: 14 Sep 2003
Posts: 762
Location: Turkey
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| Posted: Fri Sep 09, 2005 11:54 pm Post subject: |
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I understand both but feel differently about them. As to what I would teach, how I would teach the difference, that's difficult.
"I miss not having the cat" says what it says but is neutral on emotion. You lack a feline pet.
"I miss the cat" is more personal, you miss that particular cat, her character, the way she nibbled your ear etc.
This is very much a post pub spiel, please forgive my gut reaction response. Tomorrow morning (actually afternoon) when I check, others will have given much better responses, or 31 will have hijacked this to slag off ET again. |
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dmb
Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 12:00 am Post subject: |
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| This is very much a post pub spiel |
That's good because it was a post pub question  |
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Baba Alex
Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 2411
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 6:36 am Post subject: Re: A question |
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| dmb wrote: |
OK here is the background.
You have something and you no longer have it.(my flatmate moved out and took one of the cats with her)
what do say?
I miss not having .......
or
I miss ............
I'd say the former but my g/f says the latter. Is this a British English/ N. American English thing? |
Are you two drunk?
I always thought I miss not having the cat around would be a double negative ie. The cat was here, and that is the state I miss.
But I hate cats anyhoot, so what can I say. |
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yaramaz
Joined: 05 Mar 2003
Posts: 2384
Location: Not where I was before
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| Posted: Sat Sep 10, 2005 10:37 am Post subject: |
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| Oh dear, dmb, I guess I should have joined you guys last night when your gf called. I could have been the impartial 3rd party (who recently acquired a cat of her own in case you fancy a ball of nameless purry fur to make friends with) |
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