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JesterLegacy Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Modal Questions
I saw this sentence in a book that says it is grammatically correct to use these:
1. Does the firm can deliver documents to my house?
2. They ought to pay attention, didn't they?
3. You didn't ought to listen to them.
Are those really the correct usage of modals? I mean, I rarely hear those sentences. The times when I see the joint usage of do and modals is are in sentences like 'You just had to do it, didn't you?' is that one also acceptable? If it is, why can't we use the three sentences above? (provided they are correct).
1. Does the firm can deliver documents to my house?
2. They ought to pay attention, didn't they?
3. You didn't ought to listen to them.
Are those really the correct usage of modals? I mean, I rarely hear those sentences. The times when I see the joint usage of do and modals is are in sentences like 'You just had to do it, didn't you?' is that one also acceptable? If it is, why can't we use the three sentences above? (provided they are correct).
Top answer
They're all wrong. Are you sure the book wasn't asking you to grammatically correct them?
- They're all wrong.
- Are you sure the book wasn't asking you to grammatically correct them?
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2 Answers
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They're all wrong.
Are you sure the book wasn't asking you to grammatically correct them?
Are you sure the book wasn't asking you to grammatically correct them?
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JesterLegacy1. Does the firm can deliver documents to my house?2. They ought to pay attention, didn't they?3. You didn't ought to listen to them.The first is definitely wrong.
Some purists would say the second and third were wrong, but they are not uncommonly heard in BrE. 'Ought (to)' is not a core modal, and there are no clear rules about ho
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