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Laborious Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Grammatical patterns/structures of sentences
Hi there teachers, could you please tell me the grammatical structure/pattern of the following sentences?
(1). I cannot imagine his doing like this.
(2). They could not prevent her coming to the function.
In our first sentence, are we talking about the present? Or are we talking about the past "I cannot imagine that he did like this"?
In our second sentence, is it correct to say 'prevent her coming...' or do we have to say 'prevent her form coming..."?
_____________
What is the grammatical pattern / structure for these sentences, please?
(3). I saw him doing that work.
(Here, does it mean that I saw him when he was doing that work. Is this sentence expressing that something (I saw him) happened/occurred when something else (he was doing that work) was in progress?
(4). She felt an insect going up her leg.
(Here again, does it mean that she felt an insect when it was going up her leg? Which tense or which aspect do we have in our minds when we use sentences like these, '#3' and '#4'.)
Thank you.
(1). I cannot imagine his doing like this.
(2). They could not prevent her coming to the function.
In our first sentence, are we talking about the present? Or are we talking about the past "I cannot imagine that he did like this"?
In our second sentence, is it correct to say 'prevent her coming...' or do we have to say 'prevent her form coming..."?
_____________
What is the grammatical pattern / structure for these sentences, please?
(3). I saw him doing that work.
(Here, does it mean that I saw him when he was doing that work. Is this sentence expressing that something (I saw him) happened/occurred when something else (he was doing that work) was in progress?
(4). She felt an insect going up her leg.
(Here again, does it mean that she felt an insect when it was going up her leg? Which tense or which aspect do we have in our minds when we use sentences like these, '#3' and '#4'.)
Thank you.
Top answer
Laborious first sentence... present? Or ...
- Laborious first sentence...
- present?
- Or ...
- past ...?
- Gerundive constructions do not show tense.
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5 Answers
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Laboriousfirst sentence... present? Or ... past ...?Gerundive constructions do not show tense. It could be either one.
Laborious 'prevent her coming...' or ... 'prevent her from coming..."?Either. I always use "from".
Laborious-
(3). I saw him doing that wor
00
Thank you very much, teacher, for your reply.
I'd like to ask a few more questions in relation to this thread, please.
1). Is 'coming' in both 'prevent her coming' and 'prevent her from coming' a gerund?
2). If I say 'I see him doing that', will it mean that I am seeing him and he is doing that at this very moment/at the point of speaking?
I'd like to ask a few more questions in relation to this thread, please.
1). Is 'coming' in both 'prevent her coming' and 'prevent her from coming' a gerund?
2). If I say 'I see him doing that', will it mean that I am seeing him and he is doing that at this very moment/at the point of speaking?
00
Laborious1). Is 'coming' in both 'prevent her coming' and 'prevent her from coming' a gerund?Yes.
Laborious2). If I say 'I see him doing that', will it mean that I am seeing him and he is doing that at this very moment/at the point of speaking?It can mean that. Yes.
It can also mean that I regularly see it,
00
Thank you, sir.
So, should stick to the rule that says we should not use the continuous tenses with 'state verbs' or should I use the continuous form for eg, 'seeing', 'hearing', 'smelling' etc. if I want to say 'I am [seeing / hearing / smelling something] at this very moment'?
So, should stick to the rule that says we should not use the continuous tenses with 'state verbs' or should I use the continuous form for eg, 'seeing', 'hearing', 'smelling' etc. if I want to say 'I am [seeing / hearing / smelling something] at this very moment'?
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Laboriousshould I stick to the rule that says we should not use the continuous tenses with 'state verbs'Yes. Definitely. I am seeing him doing that is bad English!
CJ
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