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Musicgold Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Are these sentences natural? Jan 23

Hi,

Are the following sentences natural to a native ear?

1. These guys were behaving crazy that night. As soon as the phone in the store rang, these guys would pick it up and talk. (I am not sure I have the tenses right in this sentence. I am describing the behavior of my friends one night when we went drinking)

2. These empty homes underscore the difficulty of smaller towns to lure young population / in luring young people ( which choice sounds better)

3. I find it hard to sleep in late on weekends. Maybe I am getting old.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

1. Unless all of the "guys" whose behavior you were describing were actually in your presence when you were recounting your exploits, or you were pointing to a photo of them, I would use "Those". 2.

— JohnParis

  • 1.
  • Unless all of the "guys" whose behavior you were describing were actually in your presence when you were recounting your exploits, or you were pointing to a photo of them, I would use "Those".
  • 2.
  • "To lure a young population" sounds better to me.
  • 3.
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6 Answers
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1. Unless all of the "guys" whose behavior you were describing were actually in your presence when you were recounting your exploits, or you were pointing to a photo of them, I would use "Those".
2. "To lure a young population" sounds better to me.
3. You are. Welcome to the club. (the two sentences are fine, by the way).
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Thanks John.

A follow up on #1. I still feel that the tenses are not correct in the second part of that sentence. I am using 'rang' and 'would pick'. Also, I am trying to describe the fact that they did that action a number of times.

Is there a better way of describing that?

Thanks.
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Those guys were behaving crazy that night. Each time the store phone rang, they would pick it up and start talking.

Better?
John

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Should it be "crazy" or "crazily"?

I think normally we say someone is crazy or someone is behaving crazily.
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You are correct, crazily is grammatical.
But, people just don't speak like that in casual conversation (which is the case here).
Another example is "bad and "badly." Unfortunately, most people - in casual conversation or writing - will say " I feel bad about that." The correct usage is "I feel badly about that". Here, "badly" (like "crazily" above) is more elegant and totally
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