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SuperESL Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

might have been - was

(1) "One suspect that the whole event might have been orchestrated by John."
(2) "One suspect that the whole event was orchestrated by John."

Hello,

Are both examples equally valid? Are they subtly different in the meanings they convey?

Thank you very much.
  

Top answer

SuperESL Are both examples equally valid? No. I suspect you mean 'one suspects '.

— Mister Micawber

  • SuperESL Are both examples equally valid?
  • No.
  • I suspect you mean 'one suspects '.
  • SuperESL Are they subtly different in the meanings they convey?
  • The first contains a redundancy which, if retained, makes the suspicion less likely to be valid.
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5 Answers
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SuperESLAre both examples equally valid?
No. I suspect you mean 'one suspects'.
SuperESLAre they subtly different in the meanings they convey?
The first contains a redundancy which, if retained, makes the suspicion less likely to be valid.
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Should I say:

"One cannot help but suspect that......"

Or

"One cannot help but suspects that......" ?

Thank you.
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One cannot help but suspect that..

'Can' goes with both 'help' and 'suspect'.
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