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Newguest Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Give somebody a hard time

Hi

Is it OK to say: If you give the teacher a hard time again, we will expel you from school.
  

Top answer

Hi, The first part of the sentence is slang, and the second part is more formal. The two parts don't fit well together. I suggest eg If you give the teacher a hard time again, we will throw you out of school.

— Clive

  • Hi, The first part of the sentence is slang, and the second part is more formal.
  • The two parts don't fit well together.
  • I suggest eg If you give the teacher a hard time again, we will throw you out of school.
  • eg If you are disruptive in class again, we will expel you from school.
  • Clive
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6 Answers
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Hi,

The first part of the sentence is slang, and the second part is more formal. The two parts don't fit well together.
I suggest
eg If you give the teacher a hard time again, we will throw you out of school.
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Hi. Thanks for the answer. And what do you think about this sentence:

It suddenly crossed my mind that I forgot to tell my wife that ...

--- Do I have to say "had forgotten"?
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Hi,

No, you don't have to.

Clive
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Could you tell me why and when would I have to use the past perfect in a similar example?
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Hi,

Very broadly speaking, use the Past Perfect when the words or context do not make the sequence of events clear.

eg Tom came home at 6 pm. His wife put dinner on the table. Sounds like she put it on the table after 6 pm.
eg Tom
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