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Someone has taken my wallet
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:09 pm
by Metamorfose
Hello
I have one exercise which students are supposed to choose the most appropriate form according to the situation given, one of items says "If your wallet had disappeared from your pocket, you would say..." and then we have the following choices:
a) Someone has picket up my wallet.
b) Someone has robbed my wallet.
c) Someone has taken my wallet.
The teacher's book says "c" is the right opition, but I don't see any problems with "a", what do you think?
Thanks
José
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:15 pm
by fluffyhamster
C (or something like it - 'Somebody's stolen my wallet', or 'I've lost my wallet', or 'My wallet's gone/disappeared/been stolen etc'), even if it is assuming too much and 'the worst', is actually "assuming" a lot less than A (which we would only really say in a different context - having been rung by the lost property office is what springs to my mind)...so I myself would have a problem with A in preference or even in addition to C.
By the way, A is 'picked' rather than 'picket' (one versus two syllables), right?
I guess that objects themselves can't be robbed (unlike people or places), so B sounds wrong (just in case anyone were wondering).
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:05 pm
by Metamorfose
heheheehe picked....simply a typo fluffy.
Thanks a bunch for the feedback
José
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 1:06 am
by woodcutter
B is fine in some British dialects, but generally the direct object of "robbed" refers to the place things were taken from (and even then is restricted, you can't usually say "robbed my pocket"). A doesn't sound like theft (especially out of a pocket), so C.
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 10:46 am
by zorro (3)
I would actually say B (if with fellow native speakers) over the other two examples.
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 4:54 pm
by fluffyhamster
Aargh! My intuition's been robbed of its "authority"!
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:24 pm
by jotham
Someone picks up an object that is on a flat surface. You wouldn't pick up a wallet when it is in someone else's pocket. You would take it, or steal it.
Someone steals an object, but robs a person or store...or the person or store might get "robbed of" an object.
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 12:59 pm
by woodcutter
By the way, what can be "robbed" in standard English? Is it a place or person that can put up a defence?
Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 3:04 pm
by fluffyhamster
What Jotham said got me wondering...
Daylight robbery/muggery etc could be reported quite indirectly, eh:
A: I picked up some nice stuff the other day...wanna buy anything?
B: Ooh, nice wallets! Where are they from? Off the back of a lorry?
A: Actually, I robbed somebody of them/?robbed them off somebody/stole-nicked them from somebody etc.
Not sure I'd potentially muddy the waters too much in actual class, though.