Sentence correctness

Question

Dear teachers,

Would you please tell me if the following sentences are correct?

1) The old oak tree, which had been standing in the churchyard SINCE BEFORE the church was built, suddenly crashed to the ground.

2) We slipped / crawled / sneaked down and out of the room.
(if the construction is correct which verb is best ?)

3) He shouted himself hoarse.

4) Milton read himself blind.

5) He drank himself into the grave.

6) I had to shake him awake.

7) She HAS already HAD the baby.

8) She already HAD the baby.
(If both correct, what’s the difference between 7) and 8) then ?)

Thank you very much for your help.

Best regards,
Hela

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

1) Fine. 2) Both "down" and "out" seems strange. I'm not sure what you are trying to say here. I'd say, "We slipped out of the room". 3) - 8) all fine.

Strict grammarians probably advise "... has already had ..." in preference to "... already had ...", but (at least in the U.S.) you will hear both. There is very little difference in meaning. The difference is that adverbs of past time can only be used with 8. "She already had the baby yesterday", but not "She has already had the baby yesterday". "had" locates an event in the past; "has had" locates a state in the present caused by an event in the past.

CJ

Hela · Answer

Dear teachers,

Would you please tell me if the following sentences are correct?

1) a) He had not wanted to come until they had built the motorway. OR
b) He had not wanted to come until they built the motorway.

Is it true that the fact of having 2 different subjects can influence the tense of the subordinate clause?

2) Does " MUST" in Indirect speech remain unchanged?

a) She said, “He must stay here.”
b) She said that he must (or had to, or both) stay here. (?)

3) The construct / construction (?) : "It is + adj + OF + noun (to do sthg)".
ex: I know you don't care about my problems, but it is nice OF you to pretend that you do.

Is there a similar construction like "It is + adj + FOR + noun (to do sthg)" ? Would you please give me examples ?

Thank you very much indeed.
Hela

Hela · Answer

Dear teachers,

A/ Are these sentences correct ?

1/ The latest software contains graphics which could once only have been imagined.

2/ Impressionist painters such as Manet and Monet knew how to use colour so as to create an image of reality, rather than a reproduction THEREOF. (meaning ?)

3/ Although the sculptor had hoped that he would be able to finish the stone faces at Mount Rushmore, the work was left for his son to complete.

4/ The philosophy of ancient Greece has been preserved in the scholarly writing of western civilization.

5/ By the mid nineteenth century, land had become so expensive in big cities,
that architects began to save space by building skyscrapers.

6/ Before the invention of the musical staff, musical compositions were passed
among composers through writing as well as by memory.

7/ A once talented child actor, Shirley Temple, established herself as a career diplomat, becoming a representative in the United Nations.

8/ There are now new ways to have access to the web using game consoles or the wap (correct ?), which is a small cell phone with A tiny screen.

9/ All the albums in this chart were released during the month of May; the top-ten listings of tracks were compiled after conducting telephone polls.

10/ If an average-length DVD movie were uncompressed, it would take at least a year to download it over a normal telephone line.

11/ By January 2003, the Fellowship of the Rings sequel had earned $US 200 million at the north American box office, outpacing its hit predecessor in 2001.

12/ Unlike the internet, built by a large group of military and scientists, the world wide web owes its creation to a single extraordinary man, Tim Berners-Lee.

13/ Few actors perform their own stunts, either because they don't wish to, or because the producer is afraid of / fears injuries.

14/ The crew did report that one of the cranes was out of order, but the replacement arrived so late that the time limit / deadline was missed.

15/ The sales of videocassettes have fallen down / away (?) in direct proportion to the rise in DVD sales.

B/ Would you please give me a couple of sentences beginning with “Be it…”?

Many thanks,
Hela

MrPedantic · Answer

Hello Hela

1/ Change to: '...which once could only have been imagined.'

2/ Correct; 'thereof' means 'of that' or 'of it'; so here in effect = 'of reality'.

3/ Fine.

4/ Change to 'scholarly writings'.

5/ Fine.

6/ I don't quite follow your meaning here. Do you mean e.g.: 'Before the invention of the musical staff, musical compositions were either learnt by rote or passed from musician to musician in alphabetical notation.'

7/ Shirley Temple, once a talented child actor, established herself as a career diplomat and became a representative in the United Nations.

8/ New ways of accessing the web include the use of game consoles or WAP-enabled cellphones with tiny screens.

9/ Fine!

10/ Fine! An impressive factoid.

11/ By January 2003, the Lord of the Rings sequel had earned US$200m at the North American box office, outpacing its hit predecessor of 2001.

12/ Unlike the Internet, which was constructed by the joint efforts of scientists and military personnel, the world-wide web owes its creation to a single extraordinary man, Tim Berners-Lee.

13/ Few actors perform their own stunts, either because they don't wish to, or because producers are afraid of injuries.

14/ The crew did report that one of the cranes was out of order, but the replacement arrived so late that the deadline was missed.

15/ The sales of videocassettes have fallen in direct proportion to the rise in DVD sales.

B/ Would you please give me a couple of sentences beginning with “Be it…”?

Hmm...

'Be it ever so humble, there's no place like your local bar when something needs fixing at home.'

'Don't dream it. Be it.' [Cheesy motivational poster from the corporate 1980s.]

'Be it on your head, if this sentence begins with a lousy subjunctive and questionable inversion.'

'Be it wrong, be it right, be it black, be it white, be it day, be it night, sooooo — be it.' (Possibly apocryphal Merseybeat lyric, band unknown, circa 1963.)

'Be it known to all interested parties and hereby solemnly declared: Santa Claus is coming to town.'

Be seeing you,
MrP

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