Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

1.If you don�t hear/take my advice, you�ll be very sorry/you�ll feel very sorry.
-Is this natural?

2.I�m your dream, make you real.
-This means �����.., make you a real person�, right?

3.She�s usually in bed by 11 PM.
-This means �She just usually lies in bed at 11 PM and does not sleep�, right?

4.My friends sometimes come round to my flat.
-I think �round� is redundant here, right?

5.Karen Carpenter used to sing � We�ve only just begun�
-I think �only� is redundant here, right?

6.- I often feel very happy after seeing a happy ending romantic/love story film.
-�������������after I have seen a��������������.
-Which sentence is right?

- Thanks a lot to Teachers,

Stevenukd.

[bud]

1. It is with "take" and "you'll be." It is also natural with, "If you don't heed my advice..."

2. Is it from a song? It isn't grammatical, but my guess would be that it's the writer's way of saying "I'm just what you've hoped for. I will make you feel fulfilled."

3. It's not specific as to what she does in bed at that time. She could be asleep or she could be watching TV, reading, etc.

4. In a literal sense it isn't needed. To my ear, though, it gives the sentence a feeling of the casual comfort that friends have with each other. It gives it the sense that not only do they come to my flat, but they stay, we hang out, we have some laughs - that sort of meaning. (By the way, come round is casual for come around. Probably it should be written as come 'round.)

5. Here, only is a way to emphasize that we are at the beginning of our relationship. But as in #4, in a literal sense it is not needed.

6. Both ways are good. They'd probably be more natural, though rephrased as, "... a romantic/love story with a happy ending." Also, written with "happy ending" as an adjective, you'd need a hyphen: "a happy-ending love story."

You seem to be concerned about the naturalness of your sentences, Stevenukd. That's a good issue worry about for an advanced student. Most of your sentences are natiural, or very close, so you're on the right track. Great work!