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Johner Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Present perfect / The use of "As"
Hi,
Could you explain the meaning of the following sentence?
She has never been sailing. (Can I also say: I have never been playing handball)
And what's the function of as in this sentence? Is it completely same as in this sentence: I like eating as a cook ? Or does it have the meaning of the word since here?
It is fantastic that Tom Dickens wrote about the entrapment, as he is a very well respected journalist.
Many thanks...
Could you explain the meaning of the following sentence?
She has never been sailing. (Can I also say: I have never been playing handball)
And what's the function of as in this sentence? Is it completely same as in this sentence: I like eating as a cook ? Or does it have the meaning of the word since here?
It is fantastic that Tom Dickens wrote about the entrapment, as he is a very well respected journalist.
Many thanks...
Top answer
She has never been sailing. -- She has not been in a sailboat. Can I also say: I have never been playing handball-- No.
- She has never been sailing.
- -- She has not been in a sailboat.
- Can I also say: I have never been playing handball-- No.
- The use of 'be' in your first sentence is idiomatic; it means 'go' (She has never gone sailing).
- Be/do + -ing verb form is a specific grammatical structure which requires some sort of distance movement in addition to the activity itself.
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5 Answers
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She has never been sailing. -- She has not been in a sailboat.
Can I also say: I have never been playing handball-- No. The use of 'be' in your first sentence is idiomatic; it means 'go' (She has never gone sailing). Be/do + -ing verb form is a specific grammatical structure which requires some sort of distance movement in addition to the activity itself.
Can I also say: I have never been playing handball-- No. The use of 'be' in your first sentence is idiomatic; it means 'go' (She has never gone sailing). Be/do + -ing verb form is a specific grammatical structure which requires some sort of distance movement in addition to the activity itself.
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johnerShe has never been sailing. (Can I also say: I have never been playing handball)sailing is used in the idiom to go X-ing. play handball is not used in that idiom. The two are different, so you can't also say I have never been playing handball.
For more examples of verbs in their -ing form
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Yes, thanks. now the first sentence makes sense.
In the second sentence as means because or since, as you implied. Then can I use this type of as everywhere? I mean whenever I need because or since in the meaning of because of course?
I needed to ask this question, as it could make everything eas
In the second sentence as means because or since, as you implied. Then can I use this type of as everywhere? I mean whenever I need because or since in the meaning of because of course?
I needed to ask this question, as it could make everything eas
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If you are confused about 'since' and 'because', then 'as', which has the same meaning here, will be of no help. Personally, I advise my students against using 'as' very much, because the reader is often confused by its other meanings, e.g.: I saw him as he was visiting his brother.
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Yes, I could see clearly now. I don't have trouble using them but I thought if someone could understand when I said as instead of because or since then why not just say it? For now I just want to be able to express myself. This is my priority. That's why I'm boring you sometimes with my stupid questions. Sorry for this. And thanks a lot.
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