need explaining

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:01 pm

Is there anything wrong with the "Whatever" reply below?

Example dialogue:

Tom: I don't understand this.

M56: Google it.

Tom: Google what?

M56: Whatever it is that you need explaining.

Tom: (sarcastically) What a peculiar sentence! What language is it? LOL!

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:08 pm

The question mark is the dodgy part.

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 6:17 pm

JuanTwoThree wrote:The question mark is the dodgy part.

Oops! Shouldn't be there. I'll edit.

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 7:29 pm

In other words "Google whatever it is that you need explaining" , which is fine .

So what was this Tom's beef?

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 10:38 pm

JuanTwoThree wrote:In other words "Google whatever it is that you need explaining" , which is fine .

So what was this Tom's beef?

Tom, name changed to protect the "innocent", insists that it has to be "need explained". He was quite rude about it in fact.

JuanTwoThree · Post by **JuanTwoThree** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 11:13 pm

Maybe we both come from the same remote village or something but "Tell me what you need doing" seems perfectly fine to me.

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Thu Sep 08, 2005 3:48 am

Tom, name changed to protect the "innocent", insists that it has to be "need explained". He was quite rude about it in fact

Tom is wrong.

The fact that he can criticize a construction he must have heard hundreds of times shows that, to paraphrase Gould "first we discriminate, then we hear."

Tara B · Post by **Tara B** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 1:08 am

Was Tom American? Because I agree with him.

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Sep 09, 2005 5:36 am

Tara B wrote:Was Tom American? Because I agree with him.

Obviously, he is. He's the same American who said this about you:

LOL! I think Tara B. is delusional.

All of a sudden there was a boy sitting next to me.

Tara B. : This boy magically appeared out of nowhere.

What is she smoking?

When I told him you had said this:

"All of a sudden, there was a bottle breaking on the table."

In this sentence it sounds like two things happened: a bottle magically appeared that wasn't there before, and it broke for no reason.

Not something I'd want to put in a grammar exercise.

Nice guy, eh?

Tara B · Post by **Tara B** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 4:49 am

So much for us Yanks sticking together, eh? I must apologize for my comrade.

ontheway · Post by **ontheway** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 4:31 pm

The original dialogue item is incorrect.
Rude or whatever, Tom and Tara are correct. We can understand: "Whatever it is that you need explaining", and it's probably good dialogue for real characters in movies or on TV, but it is actually a combination of two correct forms:

"Whatever it is that needs explaining."
- and -
"Whatever it is that you need explained."

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 7:56 pm

ontheway wrote:The original dialogue item is incorrect.

In whose version of English?

"Did you eat yet?" is incorrect in my form, but I'll bet it isn't in yours.

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:30 pm

In whose version of English?

Uninformed Pedants' version.

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 10:34 pm

Stephen Jones wrote:
In whose version of English?
Uninformed Pedants' version.

Rasputin! Rasputin! The pedants are revolting!

ontheway · Post by **ontheway** » Sun Sep 11, 2005 12:22 pm

of course:

"Did you eat dinner yet? "
- and -
"Did you eat yet?"

are both correct!

But I wouldn't say: "Whatever it is that you need eating."