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Seyfihoca Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Once vs. when: are they interchangable?

0 hello 02br
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00a couple of days ago, a very important exam took place in turkey, which is named "yds". The exam is held to select and place those who want to be english teachers in turkey. So it is of critical importance. 02br
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00In the exam, there was a question as follows: 02br
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00....Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympic Games, the people of the world will find a city and a country that has been transformed... 02br
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00A) Once 02br
00B) When 02br
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00Are two of the choices that were given, among others. We are primarily concerned with these two response choices since we feel that both are viable alternatives for this question. Could you please give us some guidance as why one or both would be an appropriate answer. Thanks in advance for your help! 0-
  

Top answer

0 The correct answer is "once". "Once" denotes an immediate, big or major noticeable change while "when" just denotes a passage of a time period or interval. g.

— Dehbaash

  • 0 The correct answer is "once".
  • "Once" denotes an immediate, big or major noticeable change while "when" just denotes a passage of a time period or interval.
  • g.
  • 02br 02br 00a) Once the well runs dry, you'd know the water's worth.
  • 02br 00b) Once you understand this rule, you'd have no further difficulty.
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10 Answers
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0 The correct answer is "once". "Once" denotes an immediate, big or major noticeable change while "when" just denotes a passage of a time period or interval. e.g. 02br
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00a) Once the well runs dry, you'd know the water's worth. 02br
00b) Once you understand this rule, you'd have no further difficulty. 0-
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0 but the accepted answer is "when". 02br
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00is it possible to say that "once" and "when" mean the same, though "once" is also similar to "as soon as"? 02br
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00If you confirm me, then we are planning to make a lawsuit to cancel the question... 0-
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0 seyfihoca, 02br
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00What is written in the latter part of the sentence? 0-
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0 here is the original text: 02br
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00Two years ago, China joined the World Trade Organization and tariffs began to drop. ----- Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympics, the world will find a city and a country that has been transformed. China is now one of the largest econimies in the world and it is becoming the most significant trading partner of the United States.
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0 In my opinion, as a native English speaker, both words are correct. There is a very slight difference in meaning but it's impossible, from the information provided, to say which is better. My own inclination is to say "when" because "once" is used much less often. "Once" implies a completed action to me. 02br
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00"Once you've done your homework we'll discuss your pocket
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0 I feel this question is tricky. To me it looks like a question of logic, not of grammar. "Once..." is an adverbial clause indicating an unspecific time when some event happens. So, when a speaker say "once ...", he/she does not know exactly when the event happens. 02br
00"Once you've done your homework (I don't know when it is exactly), we'll discuss your pocket money". 02br
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0Thank you all. Much appreciated.02br
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00Still would like to receive more evaluation in order to put forward a sound ground for an objection to the test question involved.02br
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00many thanks0-
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0For me, paco2004 is convincing. 02br
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00 I see 'once' as more suggestive of: 'at the very moment'. 02br
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00The sentence then would translate weirdly as: "At the very moment that Beijing hosts the 2008 Olympic Games..."02br
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00'When' allows for the notion of: 'during the time'. "During the time when Beijing hosts..." 0
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0seyfihoca,02br
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00Reading the original text, I now think that the correct word to use should be "when" and not "once". As I said before, "once" denotes an immediate, big or major noticeable change which is not appropriate in this case because of the preceding sentence, " Two years ago,......" which already indicates a time element. I hope the following examples will she
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Your evidence is logical but I would like you to pay attention to the main verb of the clause following the WHEN and ONCE clauses. I think that it affects the choice. In the first example of Beijing, the verb FIND is the main verb but here I think it refers to a repetitive action by many people which shows an unlimited period of action. Hence, WHEN is better because ONCE only predicts a short acti
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