Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[welkins2139]

When they presented at the party, she was afraid to talk.

When they presented at the party, she felt she were loser.

When they presented at the party, she was jealous about them who made more money than her.

When they presented at the party, she thought she was not pretty enough.

Are they OK?

Thank You

[LucentShade]

First off, the usage of the verb "present" is wrong-- "present" is a transitive verb meaning "show" or "introduce", so you always have to present something. It could be, "When they presented her at the party..." but I'm not sure what the sentences mean as they are.

When they presented* at the party, she was afraid to talk.
OK (*aside from "presented" part)

When they presented* at the party, she felt like a loser.

When they presented at the party, she was jealous of those who made more money than her.
"jealous of," not "jealous about"
Also, it would be more natural to say, "jealous of the people who..."

When they presented* at the party, she thought she was not pretty enough.
OK (again, everything aside from "presented" is fine)

[CP]

If I may take a crack at your questions:

"When they presented at the party, she was afraid to talk."
I think you must mean "When they were present at the party," which is grammatical but not so natural. You'd probably say, "When they went to the party, she was afraid to talk."

"When they presented at the party, she felt she were loser."
Here you might try, "While they were at the party, she felt like a loser."

"When they presented at the party, she was jealous about them who made more money than her."
Try this: "When they went to the party, she was envious of those who made more money than she." Note that envy involves wanting something someone else has, while jealousy involves feeling bad that one's sweetheart is paying attention to someone else. And "more than she" because it is really elliptical for "more than she made."

"When they presented at the party, she thought she was not pretty enough."
Try, "When they were at the party, she thought she wasn't pretty enough" or "she didn't think she was pretty enough."

Yours truly, CP