Please need help with 4 short sentences?

Question

Could you please help me with these questions I have?

Is "going on" optional?

- There is a lot of noise (going on) outside.

Can you use the passive here? Is it Could or Would?

- Could/Would you be understood if you said that?

How would you say these please?

- It has to fit around my neck to fit around her neck./in order to fit around her neck. so don't tie the knot to close. (necklace) How would you say this? ADJUST KNOT??
- The collar is fitting to tightly around her neck.
- The shirt is too tight at/in the neck.

Thought or Figured or Concluded or ALL?

- Just as I had thought/figured/concluded. She did arrive late for work.

Thank you

Hmea1 · Accepted Answer

I think "going on" is optional. For example, someone asked why he came inside from a party might answer that there is a lot of noise outside. By saying "going on" however, you add emphasis that there is a lot of noise at the moment. Other ways to say "going on" are "right now" and "at the moment." Thus, "There is a lot of noise outside right now" and "There is a lot of noise outside at the moment." These too are optional. You can even couple them with "going on" if you so choose to get something like this, "There is a lot of noise going on right now/at the moment." In sum, I would say that "going on," "right now," and "at the moment" are optional and that there main function is to emphasize that something is happening at the moment. Furthermore, if you choose not to say "going on/right now/at the moment," the person to whom you are speaking will still grasp your implication that the action is happening at the moment.

"Would you be understood" would be used if you are talking about the possiblity of being understood at some point in the future. For example, "Would you be understood if you spoke to him in Chinese?" Another example using "would": "Would you be available for lunch this afternoon?"

"Could you be understood" would be used if you are talking about the possibility of having been understood at some point in the past. For example, someone could ask, "How did your oral exam in German go? Could you be understood by the teacher?" At least I think this is how "could" works here. Someone correct me please if I've left something out.

"It has to fit around my neck to fit around her neck." - This sentence works.

"It has to fit around my neck in order to fit around her neck." - This sentence works, too.
You don't have to say "in order to" in the above sentence, however, it does make this type of sentence significantly clearer to understand.

"So don't tie the knot too close."

"I think you want to say, "Don't adjust the necklace too close." You could also say, "Don't tie the necklace too close" that is if the necklace is the kind that you tie (as opposed to the necklace being one in which you use a clasp, hook, or some other means by which to connect the ends together).

"The collar is fitting too tightly around her neck."

"The shirt is too tight at the neck"

"Just as I had thought/figured/concluded." Any of these 3 versions is acceptable English. However, I think you probably should combine this sentence with "she did arrive late to work" to make this: "Just as I had thought/figured/concluded, she did arrive late for work."

Please need help with 4 short sentences?

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