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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Contractions
We often see on television and in the movies attorneys questioning witnesses like this: "Isn't it true that you were with the victim the night of the murder?" or "You were with the vicim the night of the murder, weren't you?"
However, when you expand the contractions, you are left with a sentence that makes no sense: "Is not it true that you were with the victim the night of the murder?" or "You were with the vicim the night of the murder, were not you?"
Are these characters using the contraction in the appropriate context?
However, when you expand the contractions, you are left with a sentence that makes no sense: "Is not it true that you were with the victim the night of the murder?" or "You were with the vicim the night of the murder, were not you?"
Are these characters using the contraction in the appropriate context?
Top answer
Yes. " If you literally convert contractions, it will always sound ackward. " It isn't necessary to literally convert them when changing them into the full form of the two words they include.
- Yes.
- " If you literally convert contractions, it will always sound ackward.
- " It isn't necessary to literally convert them when changing them into the full form of the two words they include.
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2 Answers
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Yes. If they weren't using contractions, they would change the word order to "Is it not true," and "were you not."
If you literally convert contractions, it will always sound ackward. "Aren't we going to the movies?" would be "Are not we going to the movies." It isn't necessary to literally convert them when changing them into the full form of the two words they include.
If you literally convert contractions, it will always sound ackward. "Aren't we going to the movies?" would be "Are not we going to the movies." It isn't necessary to literally convert them when changing them into the full form of the two words they include.
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It will "always" sound ackward was a bit exaggerated. There are situations where the expanded form would sound perfectly normal, as in "I'm going to the movies...i.e., I am going ..."
But, many times the expanded version would not be literally in the same word order as the contraction expanded.
But, many times the expanded version would not be literally in the same word order as the contraction expanded.
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