Some sentences to be checked

Question

Hi,please check the following sentences and if necessary correct them.1. They will confiscate her flat.2. I lend money FROM you. I am in debt TO you.3. She said that she would have taken a decision asap4. Thanks for the time you have spent reading this e-mail. Thank you for your kind attention.Thanks!Pamela

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

please check the following sentences and if necessary correct them.

1. They will confiscate her flat. 'Confiscate' is not the right word. Why will they do this?

2. I lend money FROM you. No. I lend money to you. I borrow money from you.

I am in debt TO you.

3. She said that she would have taken a decision asap.

'Would have taken' may not reflect the meaning you want. Is she making a hypothetical statment about the past before the time of speaking?

4. Thanks for the time you have spent reading this e-mail. Thank you for your kind attention.

You might also consider saying simply 'Thank you'.

Clive

Avangi · Answer

Hi,

Most of these are okay.

1. They will confiscate her flat. fine

(Edit. I note that Clive does not accept this. I was assuming the war time practice, or some similarly hostile act.)

2. I lend money FROM you. I am in debt TO you. I'm not sure what you mean. The second sentence is unquestionably correct. Perhaps the first one should be, "I borrow money from you."

Or perhaps you mean, "I lend money to others which is really yours." (a bit abstruse)

3. She said that she would have taken a decision asap (period) I believe that "to take a decision" and "to make a decision" are both correct. The "would have" suggests a caveat, but it need not be included in the example sentence. We expect some prior context to explain why the decision was not in fact taken.

4. Thanks for the time you have spent reading this e-mail. Thank you for your kind attention. fine

Pamela81 · Answer

Hi,

thank you so much for the replies and the help.

1. I used "to confiscate" because of the context: she did not pay the bank so some executors will confiscate her flat. In Italian is "confiscare" so I thought it could be OK.

2. no connection between the two sentences. I just needed a confirmation is "to" or "from" and if the "to" in the second one was ok.

3. She said that she would have taken a decision asap. (but she did not).

Thanks!!

Pamela

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Instead of 'confiscate her flat', say 'foreclose on her flat''.

This is what banks do if you can't pay your mortgage.

Clive

Pamela81 · Answer

Hi Clive,

I found this word on the dictionary but it doesn´t give me the idea of what I need to say. Does it mean that executors take possession of your goods or home?

Why do you think that "to confiscate" is wrong?

Thanks for your reply!

Pamela

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I found this word on the dictionary but it doesn´t give me the idea of what I need to say. Does it mean that executors take possession of your goods or home?

Why do you think that "to confiscate" is wrong?

confiscate - someone takes something from you, with no compensation, because they have authority to do so.

eg The airport security guard confiscated my scissors during the security check.

Thus, a thief cannot confiscate your TV, because he has no authority to do so.

foreclose

A bank does not confiscate your home. Briefly, here's what happens.

You get a mortgage of eg $200,000.

You fail to pay your monthly mortgage payments.

The bank 'forecloses'.

This means they legally force you to sell your house, eg for $250,000. They take their $200,000 back, and give you the remaining $50,000.

executor is a legal term. I usually just see it used to describe someone who administers the will of a person who has died.

Clive

Avangi · Answer

Clive's point about authority is an important one.

Of course people sometimes assumeauthority to confiscate things when that authority is arguably not theirs.

Pamela81 · Answer

Got it! thanks, it is clear now. I think there is a little difference between the two verbs, in Italian we would use "to confiscate"confiscare" in this case.

Thank you so much

Pamela

Some sentences to be checked

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions