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Jerry Chen
Joined: 26 Jan 2006
Posts: 115
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 Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2011 4:46 am Post subject: Need help from English native speakers(Grammar) |
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Hello,
As the sentence says, "It is widely believed that a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found."
The sentence can be re-written as "That a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found are widely believed. (Is it OK?)
When the two that-clauses are put after "...believed," why is the subject "it" instead of "they"?
Could you please help me with the ambiguity?
Thank you very much! |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 12:14 pm Post subject: Re: Need help from English native speakers(Grammar) |
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| Jerry Chen wrote: |
Hello,
As the sentence says, "It is widely believed that a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found."
The sentence can be re-written as "That a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found are widely believed. (Is it OK?) Yes, it's okay.
When the two that-clauses are put after "...believed," why is the subject "it" instead of "they"?
"It" is a 'dummy subject' there and has nothing to do with singularity or plurality.
You see similar use of "It" in a sentence like 'It will rain and also be very windy tomorrow.'
We don't use 'They' in a sentence like the one you are asking about. |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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| The sentence, "That a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found are widely believed. " sounds better to me if it is "That a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found is widely believed. " However, I prefer "It is widely believed that a UFO crashed and some alien bodies were found." |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:32 pm Post subject: |
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| Lorikeet wrote: |
| The sentence, ......sounds better to me if it is "That a UFO crashed and that some alien bodies were found is widely believed. " |
"is" also sounds okay to me, but I would say that there is a compound subject. So, 'are' would seem to be grammatically correct.
You can have a UFO crash without necessarily having alien bodies.
After all, I hear that the aliens have pretty good ejection and parachute systems.  |
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