Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1. When I am at a party where the girl ratio really sucks I always try to do something to make myself stand out.
- What does "make myself stand out" mean here?

2. I don't often go to sleep until I have finished all of my work.
- Is this natural?

Thanks a lot to Teachers,

Stevenukd

[2006]

1...It means to make yourself different, in some way, than everyone else and therefore be noticed.

2...No, it's not a good sentence.
'I don't often go to sleep before I have finished all of my work.' and 'I often don't go to sleep until I have finished all of my work.' are good sentences.

"have finished" can be replaced by 'finish' in the above sentences.

[bud]

2006, I don't understand why "don't often" is wrong while "often don't" is correct (when using "until"). Maybe I'm missing something, but they both seem fine - and natural - to me. Will you please explain?

[2006]

hi bud:

"I don't often go to sleep until....." just sounds very odd. The emphasis is not right and one is left thinking about what the sentence is trying to say.
To me, I often don't and I don't often have different emphases.
I think 'I often don't go to sleep before...' also would sound odd.

That's about all I can say.