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rayt
Joined: 30 Oct 2005
Posts: 60
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 Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 5:46 am Post subject: grammar clarification needed |
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I took an English test last week and I need someone�s help to give me clarification to why the answer is�
Q1
Harry felt a sense of relief, �having finished� his work before the end of the week.
� why is it not �finished, finishes or finish�?
Q2
I�m afraid that staying up late every night �is affecting� your grades in school. Starting tonight your bedtime will be 9:00.
� why is it not �affect, had affected, or has been affected�?
Q3
(Riely is a cat!!) Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant �having� the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
� why is it not �to enjoy, that or if�?
Thank you so much for you expertise. |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 9:18 am Post subject: Re: grammar clarification needed |
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| rayt wrote: |
I took an English test last week and I need someone�s help to give me clarification to why the answer is�
Q1
Harry felt a sense of relief, �having finished� his work before the end of the week.
� why is it not �finished, finishes or finish�? |
You could say (with about the same meaning):
Harry felt a sense of relief because he finished his work before the end of the week.
Note: You need a subject if you use "finished," "finishes" or "finish". You don't need the subject with "having finished".
| Quote: |
Q2
I�m afraid that staying up late every night �is affecting� your grades in school. Starting tonight your bedtime will be 9:00.
� why is it not �affect, had affected, or has been affected�? |
If you wanted to use "affect" you would have to add an "s".
"I'm afraid that staying up late every night affects your grades in school." would be possible.
There is no reason to use "had affected" because this is related to the present and is not something that occurred in the past before something else. These would be okay:
"I'm afraid that staying up late every night has affected my grades at school."
"My mother told me that staying up late every night had affected my grades at school, so she changed my bedtime to 9:00."
"has been affected" is a passive. You would need something like this:
"Your grades have been affected by staying up late." or
"Your health has been affected by staying up late."
| Quote: |
Q3
(Riely is a cat!!) Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant �having� the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
� why is it not �to enjoy, that or if�?
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You would need these sentences:
Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, she was happy that the cat greeted her at the door when she came home in the evening.
Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant when the cat greeted her at the door when she came home in the evening.
You could use "if" instead of "when" as well.
With "enjoy" I think this would sound better:
Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, she enjoyed having the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening. |
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rayt
Joined: 30 Oct 2005
Posts: 60
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| Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:04 pm Post subject: further clarification needed |
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To Lorikeet,
Thank you for your clarification.
Further to Q3�
Q3
(Riely is a cat!!) Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant �having� the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
� why is it not �to enjoy, that or if�?
1.
why �having� is the answer? Is V-ing is what needed? Why??
Can I say� Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant �to have� the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
2.
with your optional sentence:
Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, she enjoyed having the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
Does V-ing always come after �enjoy�?
Please help me out. Thank you. |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 7:53 pm Post subject: Re: further clarification needed |
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| rayt wrote: |
To Lorikeet,
Thank you for your clarification.
Further to Q3�
Q3
(Riely is a cat!!) Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant �having� the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
� why is it not �to enjoy, that or if�?
1.
why �having� is the answer? Is V-ing is what needed? Why??
Can I say� Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, it was pleasant �to have� the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
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Yes, in this case I could accept either "to have" or "having".
| Quote: |
2.
with your optional sentence:
Although Riely couldn�t offer any human conversation, she enjoyed having the cat greet her at the door when she came home in the evening.
Does V-ing always come after �enjoy�?
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Yes. I enjoy answering questions when I can. He enjoys eating out. etc. |
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