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welkins2139
Joined: 29 Mar 2006
Posts: 252
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 Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:42 pm Post subject: being |
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Being tough, it was difficult.
Being American, it was hard.
Being a American, it was easy.
Are they correct?
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 7:58 pm Post subject: |
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The first sentence is a little odd but grammatically correct.
Q...How did the young child do with that piece of meat?
A...Being tough, it was difficult (for him to chew).
The second sentence is correct.
The third sentence is wrong. It should be 'Being an American, it was easy.' |
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Mary W. Ng
Joined: 26 Jun 2006
Posts: 261
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| Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:28 pm Post subject: Re: being |
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The sentences are not correct.
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| Being tough, it was difficult. |
When you start a sentence with the phrase being ..., you need a noun or pronoun to relate to the phrase. There is no such noun or pronoun in your sentence, however. Here is one that works: Being tough, the meat was difficult to chew. (Being tough is related to the noun phrase the meat.)
| Quote: |
Being American, it was hard.
Being a American, it was easy. |
Again, you need a noun or pronoun to relate to the introductory phrase. Here is one that works: Being an American, it was hard for me to understand why he did what he did. (Being an American is related to the pronoun me.)
_________________
Mary W. Ng
Helping students learn grammar
http:www.aimpublishing.com |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 12:11 pm Post subject: |
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Obviously these sentences would have some context, which we do not know about now. In a suitable context, these sentences are very acceptable, especially in oral English. The context would tell us whether the "American" or someone else is the speaker or writer, and we would then know which pronoun is implied. The pronoun does not need to be repeated but it can be.
They said finding the place would be very easy, but they were wrong. Being American, it was hard (for me). |
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Veravera
Joined: 10 Feb 2006
Posts: 53
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| Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2006 5:08 pm Post subject: |
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I think the first sentence is ok.
Being tough, it was difficult.
The opposite of tough would be week, it means it was difficult to be tough at that situation. |
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2006
Joined: 27 Nov 2006
Posts: 610
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 7:12 pm Post subject: |
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That opposite meaning of "tough" is 'weak', not "week".
For that meaning, you should only say "Being tough was difficult."; you cannot keep "it".
'.....it was difficult to be tough in that situation.' is correct. |
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Veravera
Joined: 10 Feb 2006
Posts: 53
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| Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2006 8:05 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for you help,2006.  |
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