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Paddy Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

*** Help : English Newbie ***

Which of the following is (Should I use "are" insted of is here) correct?

James and Bond are ill.

Or

James and Bond is ill.

And

I din't have time to finish my work.

Or

I had not time to finish my work.

Thanks.
  

Top answer

' 'I didn't have time to finish my work'; or, slightly more emphatically, 'I had no time to finish my work'. 'I had not time to finish my work' would once have been correct, but is now archaic. MrP

— MrPedantic

  • ' 'I didn't have time to finish my work'; or, slightly more emphatically, 'I had no time to finish my work'.
  • 'I had not time to finish my work' would once have been correct, but is now archaic.
  • MrP
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5 Answers
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Hello Paddy

'James and Bond are ill.'

'I didn't have time to finish my work'; or, slightly more emphatically, 'I had no time to finish my work'.

'I had not time to finish my work' would once have been correct, but is now archaic.

MrP
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I agree:

"I had not time..."

Is somewhat archaic, but with the negation adverb abridged:

"I hadn't time..."

Still sounds okay to me. Would like your opinion on this Mr.P
NON C
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That's true, NC. I hadn't thought of that.

Can any other transitive/non-auxiliary verb take a postpositional 'not' without sounding archaic, I wonder. Cf 'be' ('wasn't').

Perhaps it's because we're used to 'have not/haven't' in an auxiliary context.

MrP
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What does it mean?



Why are you hoarse?



Thanks.
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Hello Paddy

'Hoarse' is when the inside of your throat is rough or sore. Maybe you've been shouting too much; maybe you've got a cold.

When you're 'hoarse', your voice sounds low and rough and croaky. You can hardly speak.

(By the way, it's easier if you start a new thread when you have a new question.)

MrP
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