0
Vsuresh Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
sentence
Hi
Please help me with this sentence:
The old woman told her son not to tell lies, to help the poor and to read as much as possible.
My question:
Is the negative not to (tell lies) structurally affecting the other two phrases -to help the poor and read as much as possible?
If yes, can it be recast this way:
The old woman told her son help the poor, to read as much as possible and not to tell lies.
Please help me with this sentence:
The old woman told her son not to tell lies, to help the poor and to read as much as possible.
My question:
Is the negative not to (tell lies) structurally affecting the other two phrases -to help the poor and read as much as possible?
If yes, can it be recast this way:
The old woman told her son help the poor, to read as much as possible and not to tell lies.
Top answer
The first sentence is OK, to me, but the one you suggested is incorrect.
- The first sentence is OK, to me, but the one you suggested is incorrect.
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3 Answers
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The first sentence is OK, to me, but the one you suggested is incorrect.
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vsureshThe old woman told her son not to tell lies, to help the poor and to read as much as possible.This is potentially ambiguous.
vsureshThe old woman told her son to help the poor, to read as much as possible and not to tell lies.This is fine, with my addition.
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Thank you, tamguatlay.
I missed 'to' in that.
The old woman told her son to help the poor, to read as much as possible and not to tell lies.
Is it wrong still?
I missed 'to' in that.
The old woman told her son to help the poor, to read as much as possible and not to tell lies.
Is it wrong still?
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