my two/ ago/ participle

heyiamhere · Post by **heyiamhere** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 12:28 pm

Thank you for answering my dumb questions.
Would you mind helping me with these four questions?

1. my two
I have been taught not to say "my a friend." --> a friend of mine.
Can I say "my two friends or my one friend?"

2. past perfect and "ago"
"Ago" doesn't go with present perfect, but can "ago" go with past perfect?
For example, "God decided to finish what he had started thousands of years ago."

3. Where does the boldic part come from, # 1 or # 2?

Having been used first in the textile industry, airconditioning found little use outside factories until the late 1920s.

<--1. After airconditioning had been used first in the textile industry, airconditioning found little use outside factories until the late 1920s

<--2. 1)Airconditioning, which had been first used in the textile industry, found little use outside factories until the late 1920s.
2) Airconditioning, having been first used in the textile industry, found little use outside factories until the late 1920s.

4.Did I guess the boldic part right?

In the 1970's, the federal government limited the role of silver in the monetary system, causing a decline in silver prices.

<--In the 1970's, the federal government limited the role of silver in the monetary system, which(the whole previous sentence) caused a decline in silver prices.

Thanks.

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:15 pm

Hi.
1) You can say "My two friends" or "My one friend"-it's acceptable, unlike "my a friend"- but it's more natural to say "One of my friends," or "Two of my friends", which specifies individuals drawn from your group of friends.
2) "Ago" is fine with past perfect.
3) None of these replacements quite gets the original. I'm not totally clear on your question, but the participle clause is doing more than just giving additional information; it also imparts a sense of causality. Therefore, I would lean toward something like, "Since air-conditioning was first used in the textile industry, it found little use outside factories until the late 1920's."
Two small side notes:air-conditioning is actually hyphenated (not one word), and I don't think boldic is actually a word. I would be tempted to use emboldened, because I always think it's great to see emboldened language use, but that's just me. I think if you're talking about fonts, you might say something like "bold-faced text/font".
4) I don't know what you mean by "(the whole previous sentence)", but ignoring that, I think your transformation is perfect.
Great work!

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 2:51 pm

Baron Holbach wrote:

You have to be careful with that one(my two friends) . It can mean that you've got only two friends. EG: My two dogs...

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:53 pm

I guess "my two friends" sounds unduly awkward, and unless you're talking about all your (two) friends, you should avoid it. However, I know "my one friend" can be used to specify this person as different from other options, similar to "one of my friends." For example, if you are arguing about a topic, you can quote your friend by saying his point of view: 'Well, my one friend says..." I doubt this is truly by-the-Hoyle English, but I've heard it frequently enough in conversation where I'd give it credibility.

Baron Holbach · Post by **Baron Holbach** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 3:57 pm

By the way, according to Michael Swan's book, a term that replaces the participle clause "Having been first used..." would be "As it was first used..." It's not as strong as "since"; I think it's a better choice.

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Thu Sep 22, 2005 10:04 pm

I can't help feeling that if you say "my one friend" you give the impression you only have one friend.

Maybe grammatically, there's nothing wrong with "my one friend", but when or why would you actually need or want to say it? If you mean "my friend", then say that. As a rule, it's best not to overcomplicate things unless you have to.

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:30 am

lolwhites wrote:I can't help feeling that if you say "my one friend" you give the impression you only have one friend.

Maybe grammatically, there's nothing wrong with "my one friend", but when or why would you actually need or want to say it? If you mean "my friend", then say that. As a rule, it's best not to overcomplicate things unless you have to.

I agree. It remind me of melodramatic utterance such as:

My one and only friend in this world..

heyiamhere · Post by **heyiamhere** » Mon Sep 26, 2005 12:36 am

Thank you !