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Vincent Teo Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
About the lion and the mouse
Can I say,
(a) He saw a mouse under the tree / He saw a mouse was under the tree.
(b) The lion did not eat it because it was too small, so he let the mouse go (back to / into the jungle)
(a) He saw a mouse under the tree / He saw a mouse was under the tree.
(b) The lion did not eat it because it was too small, so he let the mouse go (back to / into the jungle)
Top answer
(a) He saw a mouse under the tree. -- OK He saw a mouse was under the tree. -- Possible, but often the first version will suffice.
- (a) He saw a mouse under the tree.
- -- OK He saw a mouse was under the tree.
- -- Possible, but often the first version will suffice.
- ", but "that" is optional.
- There is a subtle difference in emphasis between the two sentences that I find hard to explain.
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1 Answers
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(a) He saw a mouse under the tree. -- OK
He saw a mouse was under the tree. -- Possible, but often the first version will suffice. Here I prefer "He saw that...", but "that" is optional.
There is a subtle difference in emphasis between the two sentences that I find hard to explain.
(b) The lion did not eat the mouse because it was too sma
He saw a mouse was under the tree. -- Possible, but often the first version will suffice. Here I prefer "He saw that...", but "that" is optional.
There is a subtle difference in emphasis between the two sentences that I find hard to explain.
(b) The lion did not eat the mouse because it was too sma
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