Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[luciaC]

1. My apartment manager's car tire was stolen. How could I say?
Could I say I am sorry for her? Are there any other ways?

2. How do we differ healthy from heathful?

3. It's like I have been swept off my feet by Prince Charming. What does sweep off my fee mean?

4. She said she loves him. She said she loved him. What's the difference?


Thank you!
_________________
Mimi

[bud]

1. Yes, that works well. Some other possibilities:

I feel (so) bad for her/you. ("so" is optional)
She/you have my sympathy.
My heart goes out to her/you. (although this is rather dramatic for just a stolen tire - it's more appropriate for something very serious)

2. Healthy is used to describe a living thing, or even a situation or nonliving thing (e.g., realtions between countries or an organization). Healthful is used to describe things that contribute to good health.

She is healthy because she leads a healthful life. (She has good health beacuse she includes habits in her life that contibute to that good health.)

3. It's the same as love at first sight. It's falling in love very quickly, probably at the first meeting of that person.

4. In casual speech, and without a context, they mean the same thing. They just use two different tenses to say it. One person chooses loves because he knows that it's still true in the present. Another chooses loved because "her" statement was in the past.

But there can be a real difference, depending on the context or on the meaning that the grammar inparts. The second statement could well be saying that "she" onced loved him, but no longer does. We really need more clues to know for sure.