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MarvinTheMartian Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

"to" or "and"

Hello all,

My mind is all messed up again. I seem to have lost the ability to make sentences that express consequence and / or purpose. Consider the following two sentences which I wrote myself:

Tomorrow, I will return to the scene of the crime (and / to) go over it with a fine toothcomb.

Some employees will do anything to get a sick leave - even hit themselves in the face (and / to / so as to) break their noses.

Could someone please help me complete these sentences and explain the logic behind it all? Are all the options above correct?
  

Top answer

My try: Tomorrow, I will return to the scene of the crime ( and / to) go over it with a fine toothcomb. If you use "and", this will mean that you will surely return to the scene of crime and go over it witha five toothcomb but this may not be the only action you will do. Because your only purpose is not to go over it with a fine toothcomb, you may do something else too.

  • My try: Tomorrow, I will return to the scene of the crime ( and / to) go over it with a fine toothcomb.
  • If you use "and", this will mean that you will surely return to the scene of crime and go over it witha five toothcomb but this may not be the only action you will do.
  • Because your only purpose is not to go over it with a fine toothcomb, you may do something else too.
  • On the other hand, if you use "to", this will mean that you will just return there to go over it with a fine toothcomb.
  • I make the same comment for the second sentence too.
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3 Answers
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My try:

Tomorrow, I will return to the scene of the crime (and / to) go over it with a fine toothcomb. If you use "and", this will mean that you will surely return to the scene of crime and go over it witha five toothcomb but this may not be the only action you will do. Because your only purpose is not to go over it with a fine toothcomb, you may do some
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0For some reason, this simple problem continues to puzzle me. It's been rattling around in my head for months now. Here's another example that I find problematic. I can't decide which structure to use. Let's imagine the following situation: a waiter in a hotel is asked by the maitre d' to clear the tables. Which of the following sentences should the waiter's response be? "As soon as the guests h
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0Hi,02br
02br
01font00For some reason, this simple problem continues to puzzle me. It's been rattling around in my head for months now. Here's another example that I find problematic. I can't decide which structure to use. Let's imagine the following situation: a waiter in a hotel is asked by the maitre d' to clear the tables. Which of the following

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