Please let me know which is grammarical
Hi teachers!
The sentences below are from a book I study now. I wonder which sentence is grammatical.
1. The quarrel between the two took place a year ago. They don't appear to have spoken to each other since then.
2. The quarrel between the two took place a year ago. They don't appear to speak to each other since then.
3. The quarrel between the two took place a year ago. They don't appear to have spoken to each other.
4. The quarrel between the two took place a year ago. They don't appear to speak to each other since then.
Please make me enlightened
Many thanks in advance
Top answer
Only the first one is a natural sentence. If you didn't have the part with "appear", it would contain the auxiliary verb 'have': They have n't spoken to each other since then. So when you add the part with "appear", you keep the auxiliary in the infinitive required after "appear" (or "seem"): They don't [appear / seem] to have spoken to each other since then.
- Only the first one is a natural sentence.
- If you didn't have the part with "appear", it would contain the auxiliary verb 'have': They have n't spoken to each other since then.
- So when you add the part with "appear", you keep the auxiliary in the infinitive required after "appear" (or "seem"): They don't [appear / seem] to have spoken to each other since then.
- CJ By the way, 2 and 4 are the same.
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Only the first one is a natural sentence.
If you didn't have the part with "appear", it would contain the auxiliary verb 'have':
They haven't spoken to each other since then.
So when you add the part with "appear", you keep the auxiliary in the infinitive required after "appear" (or "seem"):
They don't [appear / seem] to have spoken to each other since
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