0
Taka Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
correction please if needed
This is a compositon of a student of mine:
I thought you might have been to another concert hall. Can you come where I am soon.
What she is trying to say by the sentences is something like 'I thought you went to the wrong concert hall. Can you come right away to the place I'm waiting?'
Do the sentences, especially the parts in red, sound OK to you native speakers?
I thought you might have been to another concert hall. Can you come where I am soon.
What she is trying to say by the sentences is something like 'I thought you went to the wrong concert hall. Can you come right away to the place I'm waiting?'
Do the sentences, especially the parts in red, sound OK to you native speakers?
Top answer
Sound OK? No, not in the intended reading. I thought you might have been at another concert hall.
- Sound OK?
- No, not in the intended reading.
- I thought you might have been at another concert hall.
- I thought you might have gone to another concert hall.
- I thought you had gone to another concert hall.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
7 Answers
0
Sound OK? No, not in the intended reading.
I thought you might have been at another concert hall.
I thought you might have gone to another concert hall.
I thought you had gone to another concert hall.
I thought you were at another concert hall.
The second sentence is particularly unidiomatic, in my opinion.
come almost focuses on the m
I thought you might have been at another concert hall.
I thought you might have gone to another concert hall.
I thought you had gone to another concert hall.
I thought you were at another concert hall.
The second sentence is particularly unidiomatic, in my opinion.
come almost focuses on the m
00
CalifJimSound OK? No, not in the intended reading.RIght. I somehow knew it didn't; I just wan't 100 % sure if my intuition was right.
CalifJim And probably a thousand other variants!But her 'come where I am' is not included, right?
What if her sentence was 'Come to where I am' instead? Does it sti
00
Right. I can't think of a case where the round-about "where I am" would be used for the simple "here" when it means "here". All of those "where I am" cases sound weird.
(This does not mean you can never use "where I am", of course:
Some days I'm so overworked I don't even know where I am! )
CJ
(This does not mean you can never use "where I am", of course:
Some days I'm so overworked I don't even know where I am! )
CJ
00
CalifJimRight. I can't think of a case where the round-about "where I am" would be used for the simple "here" when it means "here".Well, about the round-about-ness, we can say 'Stay where you are!', though, can't we?
00
Yes. And the response might be "OK. I'll stay where I am." -- simply as an echo of "where you are". So there are a few special cases where "where I am" might pop up, that's true.
CJ
CJ
00
Hi,
I was looking pretty closely at your sentences and have been wondering if the first sentence of the four sentences listed might not have been constructed to render the intended meaning as the other three.
I thought you might have been at another concert hall.
I construe the meaning of the first sentence, I thought you might have been at another concert hall, a
I was looking pretty closely at your sentences and have been wondering if the first sentence of the four sentences listed might not have been constructed to render the intended meaning as the other three.
I thought you might have been at another concert hall.
I construe the meaning of the first sentence, I thought you might have been at another concert hall, a
00
Good observation!
might have been (at ...) is tricky.
In one reading, it means exactly what you said.
It is possible that you were at that place, but now are no longer there.
In another reading, it means the following:
It is possible that you have been (waiting) at that place, and are still there.
In this reading it is a very near
might have been (at ...) is tricky.
In one reading, it means exactly what you said.
It is possible that you were at that place, but now are no longer there.
In another reading, it means the following:
It is possible that you have been (waiting) at that place, and are still there.
In this reading it is a very near
0
Related Questions