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Tenacious Learner Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Could you correct or confirm my sentences?
Hi teachers,
This is for a listening comprehension exercise. The text is from a CD. (The Elephant Man)
Context:
At first he did not know many books: the Bible, and one or two newspapers, that’s all. But I gave him some books of love stories, and he liked them very much. He read them again and again, and talked about them often. For him, the men and women in these books were alive, like you and me. He was very happy.
Assuming that we know that 'he' is 'Merrick', and 'I' is ‘the doctor’ would the following be suitable questions and answers?
Could '1.a' and 1.b' be possible based on the context? Isn't '1.b' better that the other one?
1a. Did Merrick read a lot of books before he met the doctor? No, he didn’t.
1b. Had Merrick read a lot of books before he met the doctor? No, he hadn’t.
Are all of them possible?
2a. Did Merrick enjoy love stories? Yes, he did.
2b. Was Merrick keen on love stories? Yes, he was.
2c. What did Merrick like doing? He liked reading love stories and talked about them.
3. Did Merrick read those books only once? No, he didn’t. He read them again and again.
4. How were the characters of the books for him? They were alive people. (Not so sure about this one)
Thanks in advance.
This is for a listening comprehension exercise. The text is from a CD. (The Elephant Man)
Context:
At first he did not know many books: the Bible, and one or two newspapers, that’s all. But I gave him some books of love stories, and he liked them very much. He read them again and again, and talked about them often. For him, the men and women in these books were alive, like you and me. He was very happy.
Assuming that we know that 'he' is 'Merrick', and 'I' is ‘the doctor’ would the following be suitable questions and answers?
Could '1.a' and 1.b' be possible based on the context? Isn't '1.b' better that the other one?
1a. Did Merrick read a lot of books before he met the doctor? No, he didn’t.
1b. Had Merrick read a lot of books before he met the doctor? No, he hadn’t.
Are all of them possible?
2a. Did Merrick enjoy love stories? Yes, he did.
2b. Was Merrick keen on love stories? Yes, he was.
2c. What did Merrick like doing? He liked reading love stories and talked about them.
3. Did Merrick read those books only once? No, he didn’t. He read them again and again.
4. How were the characters of the books for him? They were alive people. (Not so sure about this one)
Thanks in advance.
Top answer
1a. Possible in American English. 1b.
- 1a.
- Possible in American English.
- 1b.
- Probably more universally accepted.
- 2a.
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4 Answers
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1a. Possible in American English.
1b. Probably more universally accepted.
2a. Fine.
2b. Fine, although "keen on" is rarely heard in my experience.
2c. What did Merrick like doing? He liked reading love stories and talking about them.
3. I think it's fine, but you could ask how many times Merrick read those books.
4.
1b. Probably more universally accepted.
2a. Fine.
2b. Fine, although "keen on" is rarely heard in my experience.
2c. What did Merrick like doing? He liked reading love stories and talking about them.
3. I think it's fine, but you could ask how many times Merrick read those books.
4.
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Hi Shawn,
Thank YOU so much for your help, corrections, and comentaries.
'1b.' seemed the only choice to me j
Thank YOU so much for your help, corrections, and comentaries.
'1b.' seemed the only choice to me j
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Thinking SpainThen, these two will be equally correct won't they?Hope you don't mind my mentioning this. We don't use the future tense for this type of question. You can ask either:
Then these two are equally correct, aren't they?
Then these two would be equally correct, wouldn't they?
Same with
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Shawn79Hope you don't mind my mentioning this.Hi Shawm,
Not at all. I love to be corrected, I really mean it. But under one condition, 'Constructive criticism'.
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