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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

I wonder vs I was wondering

0Can these two sentences be used interchangeably?02br
02br
001) I wonder who he is.02br
02br
002) I was wondering who he is.0-
  

Top answer

0Hi,02br 02br 01font 00Can these two sentences be used interchangeably? 02font 02br 02br 00#2 can be used as a more polite, 'more 'distanced' form of #1. 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-

— Clive

  • 0Hi,02br 02br 01font 00Can these two sentences be used interchangeably?
  • 02font 02br 02br 00#2 can be used as a more polite, 'more 'distanced' form of #1.
  • 02br 02br 00Best wishes, Clive0-
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10 Answers
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00Can these two sentences be used interchangeably? 02font02br
02br
01font001) I wonder who he is.02font02br
02br
01font002) I was wondering who he is.02font02br
02br
00#2 can be used as a
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0
0Thanks for your quick reply. 02br
02br
00One more question:02br
02br
00 Why does #2 use the past progressive? 02br
02br
00Is: 01u00I am wondering02u00 okay to use too?0-
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0Thanks Clive,02br
02br
00One more question:02br
02br
00In #2, why is past progressive used? Can't present progressive be used instead?0-
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0
0Hi again,02br
02br
01font00In #2, why is past progressive used? 02font02br
02br
00A salesclerk asks if she can help me.02br
02br
01i00I want to look at sweaters02i00 is rather direct, rather strong.02br
02br
01i00I wanted to look at sweaters02i
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Clive12cite11i10I want to look at sweaters12i10 is rather direct, rather strong.12br
12br
11i10I wanted to look at sweaters12i10 is less direct, less strong...12br
12br
10And what about11i10 I would like to...12i10? Is it less dir
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00And what about01i00 I would like to...02i00? Is it less direct than 01i00I wanted to...02i00? 02font02br
02br
00Certainly much less direct than 'I want to'. 02br
02br
00As regards 'I wanted to', these differences are small matters of
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0
0Thanks, Clive!0-
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Anonymous12cite10Can these two sentences be used interchangeably?12br
12br
101) I wonder who he is.12br
12br
102) I was wondering who he is.12br
12br
12blockquote
10Hi, This is my interpreatation:02br
02br
00I think there is a slight d
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0We can make requests (and also questions, suggestions and statements) less direct (and so more polite) by using verbs forms that suggest "distace" from the immediate present reality. Past tenses are often used to do this.02br
02br
00Progressive forms can be used in the same way. They sound more casual and less definite than simple forms, because they suggest something tempor
0
0
0We can make requests (and also questions, suggestions and statements) less direct (and so more polite) by using verbs forms that suggest "distace" from the immediate present reality. Past tenses are often used to do this.02br
02br
00Progressive forms can be used in the same way. They sound more casual and less definite than simple forms, because they suggest something tempor
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