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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

present or past?

Hi! I have to re-write this sentence without changing the meaning:
"She didn’t know any of his friends except Bill."

Which is te correct form?
"Bill IS the only friend of his she knew"
"Bill WAS the only friend of his she knew"

Thanks
  

Top answer

Anonymous Which is te correct form? e. " because of second part 'she knew' being in the past tense, too.

— Laborious

  • Anonymous Which is te correct form?
  • e.
  • " because of second part 'she knew' being in the past tense, too.
  • However, the sentence "Bill was the only friend of his she knew" sounds somewhat odd.
  • I'd say/write: "Of his friends, she knew just/only Bill" .
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4 Answers
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AnonymousWhich is te correct form?
I'd go for past tense, i.e. "Bill was the only ..." because of second part 'she knew' being in the past tense, too. However, the sentence "Bill was the only friend of his she knew" sounds somewhat odd. I'd say/write: "Of his friends, she knew just/only Bill". And in speech, I'd emphasize the word 'just' o
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Bill was the only friend of his she knew sounds fine to me. Of his friends, she knew just/only Bill seems a little stilted.
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Thanks to you, teacher fivejedjon, for your guidance. You've always been a great help to me, and to many other learners like me. I'd like to ask you If saying "Bill was the only friend of his friends that she knew" would be natural English or not, please.

Thank you.
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Laborious I'd like to ask you If saying "Bill was the only friend of his friends that she knew" would be natural English or not, please.
It's possible, but it has a different meaning. Bill is now not 'his' friend but 'his' friends' friend.
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