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Anonymous Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

English / Swedish

I would have had two balls, had it not been for the fact that John lost one of them whilst playing ball with his friend.

Jag skulle ha haft två bollar, inte hade det varit för att John förlorat en av dem medan du spelar bollen med sin vän.

I would have had (supine conjugate) two balls, not had it been (V2 word order)... This seems to be correct.

However, after varit (been), the sentence falls apart, as there does not seem to be a literal translation for 'for the fact that' in Swedish.

I guess a better sentence would be:

I would have had two balls, but John lost one whilst playing ball with his friend.

Is this correct?

  

Top answer

The last time I had a supine conjugate, it was dealt with very efficiently by my chiropractor.

— Fivejedjon

  • The last time I had a supine conjugate, it was dealt with very efficiently by my chiropractor.
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11 Answers
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The last time I had a supine conjugate, it was dealt with very efficiently by my chiropractor.
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Anonymouswhilst playing ball with his friend.
This part doesn't make much sense. It's incomplete.

It would be better and natural as "whilst playing with it, with his friend."
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AnonymousI would have had two *****, had it not been for the fact that John lost one of them whilst playing ball with his friend.
That sentence is fine.
AnonymousI would have had two *****, but John lost one whilst playing ball with his friend.
That one is good, also.

Both say the same thing, but the first uses mor
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Anonymousthere does not seem to be a literal translation
Literal translation is usually no translation at all.

The closest you can get to a literal translation, I believe, is something like this:

I would have had two ***** had it not been for John's losing one of them while playing ball with his friend.
I would have had two ***** had John
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AnonymousI would have had two *****, had it not been for the fact that John lost one of them whilst playing ball with his friend.Jag skulle ha haft två bollar, inte hade det varit för att John förlorat en av dem medan han spelade bollen med sin vän.
The beginning of the sentence refers to
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Cool BreezeThe beginning of the sentence refers to the past, so the present tense (spelar) is incorrect.CB
Is there any language you don't know?

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CalifJimwhile playing ball with his friend.
Playing what, with a ball? It doesn't say. What does it mean?
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Anonymous Anonymouswhilst playing ball with his friend.This part doesn't make much sense. It's incomplete. It would be better and natural as "whilst playing with it, with his friend."
It would be better and natural as "whilst playing with it, with his friend."

This is very bad advice.

"playing ball with his friend" is completely natural.
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AlpheccaStars Anonymous Anonymouswhilst playing ball with his friend.This part doesn't make much sense. It's incomplete. It would be better and natural as "whilst playing with it, with his friend."It would be better and natural as "whilst playing with it, with his friend."This is very bad advice."playing ball with his friend" is completely natural. It means playing some b
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AnonymousIs that part of American English? I haven't heard British people say that.
It's so common that we have an idiom: He won't play ball with us.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/play+ball
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