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Guest Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Tsunami
I read the two sentences in a Reuters news article:
1. Rescuers scoured the sea for missing tourists and soldiers raced to recover bodies amid fears of diease as Asia counted the cost on Monday of a tsunami that killed more than 15,500 from India to Indonesia.
I wonder if the last clause of the sentence could be revised to "... that has killed more than 15,500 from India to Indonesia". As the death toll has been rising, the effect of the tsunami is still there, no final death toll has been foreseen. Would it be more appropriate to use the present perfect tense?
2. The wall of water up to 10 meters tall flattened houses, hurled fishing boats onto coastal roads, ...
I wonder if the word "hurl" could be replaced with the word "toss", if yes, what is the difference?
Thank you for your help
1. Rescuers scoured the sea for missing tourists and soldiers raced to recover bodies amid fears of diease as Asia counted the cost on Monday of a tsunami that killed more than 15,500 from India to Indonesia.
I wonder if the last clause of the sentence could be revised to "... that has killed more than 15,500 from India to Indonesia". As the death toll has been rising, the effect of the tsunami is still there, no final death toll has been foreseen. Would it be more appropriate to use the present perfect tense?
2. The wall of water up to 10 meters tall flattened houses, hurled fishing boats onto coastal roads, ...
I wonder if the word "hurl" could be replaced with the word "toss", if yes, what is the difference?
Thank you for your help
Top answer
(1) Either could have been used, I think. The killing is completed, but the numbers haven't been totalled. (2) Yes, 'tossed' would be OK also.
- (1) Either could have been used, I think.
- The killing is completed, but the numbers haven't been totalled.
- (2) Yes, 'tossed' would be OK also.
- 'Hurled' suggests more motive power/more force to my mind.
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5 Answers
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(1) Either could have been used, I think. The killing is completed, but the numbers haven't been totalled.
(2) Yes, 'tossed' would be OK also. 'Hurled' suggests more motive power/more force to my mind.
(2) Yes, 'tossed' would be OK also. 'Hurled' suggests more motive power/more force to my mind.
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Just because the final death toll is still being calculated does not mean that the tsunami is continuing to kill. The simple past is better for focusing on the terrifying moment that the tsunami occurred. The present perfect would have been a less exciting, and thus less journalistic, way of expressing the thought. Besides, the sentence begins with a simple past, and it's better to continue in
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Dear guest,
Would you please give the rest of your 2nd sentence:
"The wall of water up to 10 meters tall flattened houses, hurled fishing boats onto coastal roads, ... "
Thank you,
Hela
Would you please give the rest of your 2nd sentence:
"The wall of water up to 10 meters tall flattened houses, hurled fishing boats onto coastal roads, ... "
Thank you,
Hela
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Dear Hela,
The whole of the sencond sentence is:
The wall of water up to 10 meters (30 ft) tall flattened houses, hurled fishing boats onto coastal roads, sent cars spinning through swirling waters into hotel lobbies and sucked sunbathers, babies and fishermen off beaches and out to sea.
The sentence is from a Reuters news article entitled "Asia Tsunami Kills 15,500, Rush to Find B
The whole of the sencond sentence is:
The wall of water up to 10 meters (30 ft) tall flattened houses, hurled fishing boats onto coastal roads, sent cars spinning through swirling waters into hotel lobbies and sucked sunbathers, babies and fishermen off beaches and out to sea.
The sentence is from a Reuters news article entitled "Asia Tsunami Kills 15,500, Rush to Find B
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