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Alc24 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

4 sentences, which word would you choose please

Could you please help me with these sentences? Which word would you choose?

1 When will you pick/be picking up the stuff.

2 What is this regarding/about?

3 I'd like to be refunded/I'd like a refund.

4 Breakfast stops at/ends at 10am, after which time you can no longer eat. (can you use AFTER WHICH like this?)

Can you use AVOID like this?

  • That'll avoid you having to go out to buy one.
Thank you
  

Top answer

1 When will you pick/be picking up the stuff ? -- Both OK (apart from the missing question mark), and more or less interchangeable. 2 What is this regarding/about?

— Mr Wordy

  • 1 When will you pick/be picking up the stuff ?
  • -- Both OK (apart from the missing question mark), and more or less interchangeable.
  • 2 What is this regarding/about?
  • -- "regarding" feels like business-speak or officialese.
  • In ordinary conversation use "about".
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8 Answers
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1 When will you pick/be picking up the stuff? -- Both OK (apart from the missing question mark), and more or less interchangeable.

2 What is this regarding/about? -- "regarding" feels like business-speak or officialese. In ordinary conversation use "about".

3 I'd like to be refunded/I'd like a refund. -- The second is more natural in most circumstances.

4 Breakfa
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alc24Can you use AVOID like this?

  • That'll avoid you having to go out to buy one.
The grammatical error in the sentence above is that here there has been an attempt to use a modal verb ("have to") as a gerund ("having to"). This is not possible: take for example another modal verb "ought to" - you cannot saying "
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AnonymousThe grammatical error in the sentence above is that here there has been an attempt to use a modal verb ("have to") as a gerund ("having to"). This is not possible: take for example another modal verb "ought to" - you cannot saying "oughting to"!
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AnonymousThe grammatical error in the sentence above is that here there has been an attempt to use a modal verb ("have to") as a gerund ("having to").
Not so. "have to" is not really a modal verb; it is considered a semi-modal, and it can be used as a gerund.

"Love means never having to say you're sorry."

CJ
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Could someone please tell me how they would say this?

That'll avoid you have to buy one.

That'll avoid us having to go out to buy food.

Thank you
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That verb "eviter" is sometimes tough to translate into English, isn't it? Though we have "avoid" in English, it doesn't cover all the cases where "eviter" can be used.

I'm trying to think of a way to do this that has a chance of being successful most of the time. Although some phrasing with "get around (the problem of)" is possible, I think we usually just express the whole idea in a
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Thank you CJ

Yes I got it from French.

Could you say

It'll save us having to buy one?

Thank you
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alc24It'll save us having to buy one?
Yes -- with or without from. I'll revise my notes above to include that version. Good suggestion.
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