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Debpriya De Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
The last time
"The last time I scored a goal was in 1980."
Is the above sentence grammatically correct ?
Here "The last time I scored a goal" is a noun equivalent and it refers to a time or date, so shouldn't the sentence be "The last time I scored a goal was 1980"
When someone asks us "What's the time ?", we say "It's 3:30". We don't say "It's at 3:30".
So why do we use the preposition "in" before "1980" in the first sentence ?
Is the above sentence grammatically correct ?
Here "The last time I scored a goal" is a noun equivalent and it refers to a time or date, so shouldn't the sentence be "The last time I scored a goal was 1980"
When someone asks us "What's the time ?", we say "It's 3:30". We don't say "It's at 3:30".
So why do we use the preposition "in" before "1980" in the first sentence ?
Top answer
The first sentence is fine. The last time I scored a goal was [unspecified date] in 1980 . That phrase can be elided.
- The first sentence is fine.
- The last time I scored a goal was [unspecified date] in 1980 .
- That phrase can be elided.
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9 Answers
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The first sentence is fine. The last time I scored a goal was [unspecified date] in 1980. That phrase can be elided.
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Thank you, Mister Micawber.
I have two more questions related to this.
1. What if we specify the date or time as in the following sentence :
"The last time I saw her was (at) 9 o' clock in the morning."
Do we have to include "at" in the sentence ?
2. Coming back to my original sentence "The last time I scored a goal was [unspecified date] in 1980",
wha
I have two more questions related to this.
1. What if we specify the date or time as in the following sentence :
"The last time I saw her was (at) 9 o' clock in the morning."
Do we have to include "at" in the sentence ?
2. Coming back to my original sentence "The last time I scored a goal was [unspecified date] in 1980",
wha
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1-- No, it is optional, but less formal if omitted.
2-- 'When' because there are so many dates to choose from. I don't know what you mean by 'the date is specified'-- it isn't specified until after the question.
2-- 'When' because there are so many dates to choose from. I don't know what you mean by 'the date is specified'-- it isn't specified until after the question.
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1. "The last time I scored a goal was this afternoon"
"Which was the last time you scored a goal ?"
2. The last time I scored a goal was in November.
When the last time you scored a goal.
Sentence1 specifies the time. The time was that afternoon. That's why I used "which" to refer to the time.
Sentence2 doesn't specify the time. It says that the time was [un
"Which was the last time you scored a goal ?"
2. The last time I scored a goal was in November.
When the last time you scored a goal.
Sentence1 specifies the time. The time was that afternoon. That's why I used "which" to refer to the time.
Sentence2 doesn't specify the time. It says that the time was [un
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Well, you did it wrong.
1. "The last time I scored a goal was this afternoon"
"When was the last time you scored a goal ?"
3. "The last time I scored a goal was this afternoon"
"Which was the last time you scored a goal, this morning or this afternoon?"
1. "The last time I scored a goal was this afternoon"
"When was the last time you scored a goal ?"
3. "The last time I scored a goal was this afternoon"
"Which was the last time you scored a goal, this morning or this afternoon?"
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Okay, I got that.
I have another question.
"What was the time when you scored your last goal ?"
Can the above sentence be rephrased as "What was the time that you scored your last goal ?"
I have another question.
"What was the time when you scored your last goal ?"
Can the above sentence be rephrased as "What was the time that you scored your last goal ?"
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What was the time when you scored your last goal ?"-- 'Time when' is not a very good formation.
"What was the time that you scored your last goal?"-- 'Time that' is better, but this is an awkward way to ask the question. I have never, to my knowledge, heard this structure.
"What was the time that you scored your last goal?"-- 'Time that' is better, but this is an awkward way to ask the question. I have never, to my knowledge, heard this structure.
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But we can say "What was the score when you left the stadium ?", where when-clause has an adverbial function. So why can't we say "What was the time when you scored your last goal ?"
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You can. but it's poor style. Score does not = when, but time = when.
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