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Michaelting Posted 15 years ago
Grammar

''take'' and ''what's done cannot be undone'' and done

I am going to take everything I find/found. (Are both acceptable?)

What's done cannot be undone. ( Is this an idiom?)(Can I use the past tense version of it?)

And last of all,

I did my homework.

My homework was done/is done.

My homework was done/is done by me.

Please explain to me. Thank YOU!
  

Top answer

I am going to take everything I find/found. ) What's done cannot be undone. -- It is a bromide.

— Mister Micawber

  • I am going to take everything I find/found.
  • ) What's done cannot be undone.
  • -- It is a bromide.
  • -- No, this is a poor use of passive voice.
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6 Answers
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I am going to take everything I find/found. (Are both acceptable?- Yes, for different finding times.)

What's done cannot be undone. ( Is this an idiom?-- It is a bromide.)

(Can I use the past tense version of it?-- Yes, but it would no longer be a bromide.)

I did my homework.-- OK

My homework was done/is done.-- OK

My homewor
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If it is considered as poor, can you suggest a sentence that is better? Thanks~
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The other two, of course!
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So are you saying that using the word ''by '' is a poor usage of passive form?

What if the scenario is like this,

He carried out the work .

The job was carried out by him. Is this also considered as poor usage of passive form?
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That's right. Passive voice obscures the agent. A pronoun obscures its referent. Together they are extremely poor when a pronoun is used as agent in a passive structure. Some badly educated college students try to do it and receive failing grades for the effort.
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I see. My teacher never told me at school before. Maybe it's because I live in Japan. Who knows?

Anyway, thank you again.
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