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MarvinTheMartian Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
present perfect + hurry
Hi,
I rarely use the present perfect with "hurry", but in the following example it seems like the only logical option. Please correct me if you think I'm wrong and / or if you can come up with a better wording.
"I've been in no particular hurry to buy this anthology since I already have most of the stories as individual books. Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones I don't have that are otherwise unavailable."
as opposed to:
"I'm in no particular hurry to buy this anthology since I already have most of the stories as individual books. Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones I don't have that are otherwise unavailable."
Also, regarding the last part of my last sentence, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference whether I say "(...) and are otherwise unavailable." or "(...) that are otherwise unavailable." What do you think? Is my mind playing tricks on me again? Any other parts you would word differently?
I rarely use the present perfect with "hurry", but in the following example it seems like the only logical option. Please correct me if you think I'm wrong and / or if you can come up with a better wording.
"I've been in no particular hurry to buy this anthology since I already have most of the stories as individual books. Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones I don't have that are otherwise unavailable."
as opposed to:
"I'm in no particular hurry to buy this anthology since I already have most of the stories as individual books. Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones I don't have that are otherwise unavailable."
Also, regarding the last part of my last sentence, it doesn't seem to make much of a difference whether I say "(...) and are otherwise unavailable." or "(...) that are otherwise unavailable." What do you think? Is my mind playing tricks on me again? Any other parts you would word differently?
Top answer
MarvinTheMartian "I've been in no particular hurry to buy ... Fine. " The version with and sounds wrong, because you aren't connecting equivalent structures.
- MarvinTheMartian "I've been in no particular hurry to buy ...
- Fine.
- " The version with and sounds wrong, because you aren't connecting equivalent structures.
- You should be able to take any two constituents joined by and and reverse the order.
- The father and the son both had brown hair.
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4 Answers
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MarvinTheMartian"I've been in no particular hurry to buy ...Fine.
MarvinTheMartianit doesn't seem to make much of a difference whether I say "(...) and are otherwise unavailable." or "(...) that are otherwise unavailable."The version with and sounds wrong, because you aren't connecting equivalent st
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CalifJimYou should be able to take any two constituents joined by and and reverse the order.Thanks, this is VERY helpful! I think I'll always use this tip from now on when I write long sentences that contain many clauses.
CalifJimMarvinTheMartian"I've been in no particular hurry to buy ...
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The problem is the relative clause "ones that .." It helps a lot if there is a clear subject.
Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones that I don't have and can't buy individually.
or
Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones that I don't have and can't buy individually because they are unavailable.
Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones that I don't have and can't buy individually.
or
Still, I'll probably end up purchasing it anyway for the ones that I don't have and can't buy individually because they are unavailable.
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MarvinTheMartianDo you mean "fine" as in "good" or "barely acceptable"?I mean "fine" as in "a perfectly lovely, perhaps even stellar, example of the use of the English language -- and you shouldn't change a word of it unless you want to spoil it".
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