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Believer Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

Is it acceptable?

0Hi,02br
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00An anonymous poster wrote this:02br
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00What is the difference in nuance between "Shut the door, will you?" and "Shut the door, won't you?" When do you use the former instead of the latter and vice versa? 02br
02br
00My question is "Is it OK to use01i00 the former02i00 to refer to the 'former sentence' and 01i00the latter02i00 to refer to the 'latter sentence''?0-
  

Top answer

02br 02br 00 It's normal ellipsis. And you need the 01b 00the02b 00. 0-

— Marius Hancu

  • 02br 02br 00 It's normal ellipsis.
  • And you need the 01b 00the02b 00.
  • 0-
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5 Answers
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0>My question is "Is it OK to use01i00 the former02i00 to refer to the '01b00the 02b00former sentence' and 01i00the latter02i00 to refer to the '01b00the l02b00atter sentence''?02br
02br
00 It's normal ellipsis. And you need the 01b00the02b00. 0-
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0 The first sentece is simply saying "Shut the door!". The "will ya (you) " part is simply there to express irritation, and create a sense of urgency. I would say that this is not used all that often. Other examples would be "Close the window, will ya?". I've never heard of the "wontcha" (won't you) form though.0-
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0 Yes. 01i00the former02i00 and 01i00the latter02i00 can be used instead of 01i00the former sentence02i00 and 01i00the latter sentence02i00 because it's quite clear from context that 01i00sentence02i00 is what you mean. Some people would write 01i00the former 01u
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0Thank you, Marius.02br
02br
00So what you are saying is that "the 'the latter sentence'" is an elliptical phrase of "the phrase 'the latter sentence'"? Is it that the word 'phrase' is left out? 02br
02br
00the 'the latter sentence' -- the phrase 'the latter sentence'02br
02br
00Can it be like this?02br
02br
00Is it
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0See CJ's response, just above yours.02br
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00I had dinner with Jim and Sue, but we were a sad group. The former is about to leave for a month abroad, and the latter just broke up with her boyfriend.02br
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00Very normal. The "former" in this case refers to Jim and the "latter" refers to Sue. The first one mentioned, and the later one mentioned.0-
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