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Dipsik Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Is this comprehensible?
Hello everybody,
I'd be very happy if someone knowledgeable could read through the below paragraph - especially the highlighted sentence - and tell me whether it sounds fine or not. It is a part of a story I made up for my classes in collocations, so what matters is grammar and whether it makes sense (from the point of view of the meaning of the idioms.)
Many thanks in advance
Lenny
Does Steve have a soft spot for Tony?
After the accident, Tony kept a low profile at work and tried to be on his best behaviour. When the truth of what had happened came to light, some of his colleagues could not believe that Steve had let him off the hook like that. Tony started to feel that he was the odd one out there. When he learnt that he was going to be prosecuted for causing a car accident but Steve drew the line, he said to himself that there must be a hidden agenda behind Steve’s behaviour. He decided to have it out with him, but then thought better of it because he realized he’s probably not in Steve’s good books anyway. Finally, he bit the bullet and knocked on the door of Steve’s office.
I'd be very happy if someone knowledgeable could read through the below paragraph - especially the highlighted sentence - and tell me whether it sounds fine or not. It is a part of a story I made up for my classes in collocations, so what matters is grammar and whether it makes sense (from the point of view of the meaning of the idioms.)
Many thanks in advance
Lenny
Does Steve have a soft spot for Tony?
After the accident, Tony kept a low profile at work and tried to be on his best behaviour. When the truth of what had happened came to light, some of his colleagues could not believe that Steve had let him off the hook like that. Tony started to feel that he was the odd one out there. When he learnt that he was going to be prosecuted for causing a car accident but Steve drew the line, he said to himself that there must be a hidden agenda behind Steve’s behaviour. He decided to have it out with him, but then thought better of it because he realized he’s probably not in Steve’s good books anyway. Finally, he bit the bullet and knocked on the door of Steve’s office.
Top answer
Hi, Drew the line sounds completely wrong to my non-native ears. I guess you meant When he learnt that he was going to be prosecuted for causing a car accident, Tony found out that, because of Steve's intervention/(pulling some strings), the prosecution had gone to the dogs. He, then, said to himself there must be a hidden agenda behind Steve's behaviour.
- Hi, Drew the line sounds completely wrong to my non-native ears.
- I guess you meant When he learnt that he was going to be prosecuted for causing a car accident, Tony found out that, because of Steve's intervention/(pulling some strings), the prosecution had gone to the dogs.
- He, then, said to himself there must be a hidden agenda behind Steve's behaviour.
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16 Answers
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Hi,
Drew the line sounds completely wrong to my non-native ears. I guess you meant
When he learnt that he was going to be prosecuted for causing a car accident, Tony found out that, because of Steve's intervention/(pulling some strings), the prosecution had gone to the dogs. He, then, said to himself there must be a hidden agenda behind Steve's behaviour.
Drew the line sounds completely wrong to my non-native ears. I guess you meant
When he learnt that he was going to be prosecuted for causing a car accident, Tony found out that, because of Steve's intervention/(pulling some strings), the prosecution had gone to the dogs. He, then, said to himself there must be a hidden agenda behind Steve's behaviour.
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"but Steve drew the line" is not right. Do you mean that Steve somehow managed to prevent the prosecution from going ahead?
It should be: "he realized he was probably not in Steve’s good books anyway", but I'm not sure how consistent this is with the story. Isn't the general theme that Tony was in Steve's good books?
It seems more natural to just say "... he
It should be: "he realized he was probably not in Steve’s good books anyway", but I'm not sure how consistent this is with the story. Isn't the general theme that Tony was in Steve's good books?
It seems more natural to just say "... he
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Thanks for your comment, Mr Wordy. And yes, by "Steve drew the line" I meant exactly what you said. (Let's suppose he has the power to say "no" to the police, who are after Tony.) Could you please explain what is not right about the way I used it?
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That's not what drawing the line means.
If you allow someone to do one thing, and do another, and do another, but then you say "that's enough!" you've drawn the line.
When he found out that Steve managed to convince the police to not pursue criminal charges, he wondered what Steve's hidden agenda was.
If you allow someone to do one thing, and do another, and do another, but then you say "that's enough!" you've drawn the line.
When he found out that Steve managed to convince the police to not pursue criminal charges, he wondered what Steve's hidden agenda was.
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... or, since I gather this is to illustrate English idioms, Ivanhr's idea of "pulling strings" seems a good one. Something like:
"... he found out that Steve had managed to pull some strings and convince the police to drop the charges ..."
"... he found out that Steve had managed to pull some strings and convince the police to drop the charges ..."
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Yes, I agree that Steve had pulled some strings is the right idiom, not Steve had drawn the line.
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IvanhrI think we overlapped! I posted my last message just before reading this.
btw, can the idiom "pull some strings" work there?
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I agree with everything Mr. Wordy has said, but I would also add that two people usually only 'have it out' when there's some animosity been them. Given that Steve has been shielding Tony, I'm not sure it's the best choice of idiom.
Also, you need to make sure all your pronouns have clear referents. Several of the "he's" and "him's" need to be clarified.
Also, you need to make sure all your pronouns have clear referents. Several of the "he's" and "him's" need to be clarified.
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Yes, I think that'll work perfectly, thanks. Do you think it's okay now?
After the accident, Tony kept a low profile at work and tried to be on his best behaviour. When the truth of what had happened came to light, some of his colleagues could not believe that Steve had let him off the hook like that. Tony started to feel that he was the odd one outthere. When he learnt that
After the accident, Tony kept a low profile at work and tried to be on his best behaviour. When the truth of what had happened came to light, some of his colleagues could not believe that Steve had let him off the hook like that. Tony started to feel that he was the odd one out
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