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beercanman
Joined: 16 May 2009
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 Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:47 pm Post subject: Check out this lovely multiple choice question. |
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I get these types of questions frequently, and I'm supposed to see if all the grammar and everything is correct, and provide what I think is the best answer. For this one I had to say I think all the answers are possible, but maybe one or two or three of the answers are better for some reason that I cannot figure out.
Here you are! All of us have been anxious about you, and we ______you back throughout the night.
A. expected B. had expected C. were expecting D. had been expecting
<shoots self in head> |
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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 6:56 pm Post subject: Re: Check out this lovely multiple choice question. |
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| beercanman wrote: |
I get these types of questions frequently, and I'm supposed to see if all the grammar and everything is correct, and provide what I think is the best answer. For this one I had to say I think all the answers are possible, but maybe one or two or three of the answers are better for some reason that I cannot figure out.
Here you are! All of us have been anxious about you, and we ______you back throughout the night.
A. expected B. had expected C. were expecting D. had been expecting
<shoots self in head> |
My money is on C, because C uses 'ing' and that signifies an ongoing process. 'Had been' indicates a particular point of time at which they were expecting you.
I don't teach grammar though. The ABC is my specialty, and some say I'm not even qualified for that.
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Hamlet
Joined: 18 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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None or those are correct. IMO.
The best answer would be "have been expecting" ...but it's not there! |
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beercanman
Joined: 16 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not sure from the sentence if (whether?) the night is over or not. It could be the next morning.
If I had this on a test I would go with C, but who knows which answer may be correct according to the interpretation the question-maker may have. More context is needed around the sentence, I would suppose. |
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Hamlet
Joined: 18 Mar 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, that's a good point.
In the end, it's just a bad sentence overall, which makes it hard to choose an answer.
I think it's the use of the word "and" that makes the sentence so confusing.
We've been anxious AND we've been expecting you? WTF
"We've been anxious because we were expecting you throughout the night."
That makes more sense. |
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eamo
Joined: 08 Mar 2003
Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Hamlet wrote: |
None or those are correct. IMO.
The best answer would be "have been expecting" ...but it's not there! |
+1 |
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Rusty Shackleford
Joined: 08 May 2008
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:30 pm Post subject: |
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| Even if there is a correct answer, what is the point in even knowing it? 75% of Korean English learners wouldn't be able to reproduce that piece of language in a real setting anyway. |
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tfunk
Joined: 12 Aug 2006
Location: Dublin, Ireland
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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| Rusty Shackleford wrote: |
| Even if there is a correct answer, what is the point in even knowing it? 75% of Korean English learners wouldn't be able to reproduce that piece of language in a real setting anyway. |
It's possible to understand something without being able to reproduce it.
The waiter at the coffee shop just asked me a question but I couldn't interpret it. He was either asking me how long I'd be here, how long I had been here, or how long I'd be in total. Anyhow, he brought me apple soda for free. I guess he wanted to know how long I was going to stay here. |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 8:56 pm Post subject: |
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| eamo wrote: |
| Hamlet wrote: |
None or those are correct. IMO.
The best answer would be "have been expecting" ...but it's not there! |
+1 |
+2
I think the teacher is getting at "had been expecting", but the "Here you are!" at the beginning excludes the possibility that the person has been back for a while already. |
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Joe666
Joined: 19 Nov 2008
Location: Jesus it's hot down here!
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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| No one has a problem with "throughout" at the end of the sentence. I would only use that term to describe an event that took place THROUGHOUT the night!! |
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Triban
Joined: 14 Jul 2009
Location: Suwon Station
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| C. is correct. |
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beercanman
Joined: 16 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Triban wrote: |
| C. is correct. |
It sort of feels correct to me, not by much though, and I can't explain why. Just an intuitive sense, as others have had too I would guess, unless we have some grammar experts here. Can you explain why C is correct and why the others are not? |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| Joe666 wrote: |
| No one has a problem with "throughout" at the end of the sentence. I would only use that term to describe an event that took place THROUGHOUT the night!! |
It could be morning now? |
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beercanman
Joined: 16 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Rusty Shackleford wrote: |
| Even if there is a correct answer, what is the point in even knowing it? 75% of Korean English learners wouldn't be able to reproduce that piece of language in a real setting anyway. |
Tests. And I'm pretty sure at least 90% of Chinese students will never speak English well, but they might very well learn how to answer this type of multiple choice question. |
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beercanman
Joined: 16 May 2009
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| Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2009 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Joe666 wrote: |
| No one has a problem with "throughout" at the end of the sentence. I would only use that term to describe an event that took place THROUGHOUT the night!! |
The "expecting" was that event. |
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