Korean Job Discussion Forums

[BigBlackEquus]

Ok, tough one I dont understand. Maybe one of you guys does:


His work being done, he sat down to rest for a moment.

or

His work done, he sat down to rest for a moment.



Question: Are both of these correct? Why or why not? Korean teachers feel that the word, being must be a part of the second sentence, just like the first. I really dont speak this way. Do you have to have being in there?

[hypnotist]

Surely the first sentence is wrong?

"His work being done..." suggests to me that the work is ongoing (presumably by someone else) at the time he takes the rest.

I'd prefer, I think, "His work having been done, he sat down to rest for a moment" or, in the active voice, "Having done his work, he sat down to rest for a moment". In the passive case, though, it's quite usual to drop "having done" leaving us with "His work done, ...", a simple modifying participial phrase (I think that's the right term).

As always, I should point out that I'm not an English teacher.

[Hater Depot]

What native English speaker talks like that?

[whatthefunk]

I think both are correct. Not many people would actually say the first one, but i think its correct.

[denverdeath]

The first sounds better than the second to me. As others said, not many would speak that way. How about: "When his work was done, he sat down to rest." or "Having finished his work, he sat down to rest."

I think this might be your answer(not 100% sure though):

from: http://cctc.commnet.edu/grammar/phrases.htm#participle

When the participle of an absolute phrase is a form of to be, such as being or having been, the participle is often left out but understood.

The season [being] over, they were mobbed by fans in Times Square.
[Having been] Stars all their adult lives, they seemed used to the attention.

Both correct, I believe.

[BbBbRocks]

[ontheway]

Both of the OP's sentences are correct.

But why do you suppose the Korean teachers would know? I have met hundreds of Korean English teachers. Not one of them knows enough grammar to teach it. Further, I was asked to teach using a college level grammar book written by the "greatest Korean English teacher there is" from Yonsei Uni in Seoul. It was total rubbish. There were errors on almost every page.

Keep your own counsel or check with a native speaker. Never let a Korean tell you how to speak or write or teach English. Even the Korean/English E/K dictionaries are wrong - hundreds of mistranslations and errors. (Many claim the errors originially came from the Japanese!)

I teach at a hogwan. We have NO Korean teachers. (Only the wonjangnim is Korean. She handles management and discipline. The teachers design and run the teaching program.) We use only carefully selected imported books, tapes, videos, encyclopedia, etc. Many, many of our students have parents who are English teachers. They send their kids here because they know Korean teachers can't teach English properly. Even so, they are often surprised to discover simple words that they have learned to translate incorrectly.

[hypnotist]

Out of interest, where are you guys preferring the first sentence from? It sounds horribly clunky and ambiguous to my British ears. In particular, it lacks the sense that the work was done before he sat down.

I'm interested to know if it's a localised preference.