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Hans51 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
What a lonely life it would be with you (being) away.
I know that "with objects + ~ed, ~ing and adjectives" has a meaning of "happening at the same time" like
1) I am watching TV with my arms crossed.
-> I am watching TV while my are crossed.
However, I have heard that sometimes with objects + ~ed, ~ing and adjectives has a meaning of reasons and conditions like
2) What a lonely life it would be with you (being) away.
-> What a lonely life it would be if you were away.
3) With night coming on, the wind began to blow.
-> As (Because) night came, the wind began to blow.
What do you native English speakers think? And if you do not like the examples, could you tell me if the phrases can also have a meaning of reasons and conditions or the phrases only mean happening at the same time?
Thank you so much as usual in advance.
1) I am watching TV with my arms crossed.
-> I am watching TV while my are crossed.
However, I have heard that sometimes with objects + ~ed, ~ing and adjectives has a meaning of reasons and conditions like
2) What a lonely life it would be with you (being) away.
-> What a lonely life it would be if you were away.
3) With night coming on, the wind began to blow.
-> As (Because) night came, the wind began to blow.
What do you native English speakers think? And if you do not like the examples, could you tell me if the phrases can also have a meaning of reasons and conditions or the phrases only mean happening at the same time?
Thank you so much as usual in advance.
Top answer
1) I am watching TV with my arms crossed. This is natural. -> I am watching TV while my arms are crossed.
- 1) I am watching TV with my arms crossed.
- This is natural.
- -> I am watching TV while my arms are crossed.
- This is not natural.
- It implies that when you cross your arms, you watch TV .
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4 Answers
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1) I am watching TV with my arms crossed. This is natural.
-> I am watching TV while my arms are crossed. This is not natural. It implies that when you cross your arms, you watch TV.
2) What a lonely life it would be with you (being) away. This is not natural.
-> I am watching TV while my arms are crossed. This is not natural. It implies that when you cross your arms, you watch TV.
2) What a lonely life it would be with you (being) away. This is not natural.
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Thank you so much and here in "As night came, the wind began to blow.", "as night came," has a meaning of a reason, right? In other words, the word as is used to state the reason for something like below, right?
As you were out, I left a message.
She may need some help as she's new.
What do you think? Thank you so much again.
As you were out, I left a message.
She may need some help as she's new.
What do you think? Thank you so much again.
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Hans51 in "As night came, the wind began to blow.", "as night came," has a meaning of a reason, right?Not to me. It means 'at the same time'.
Hans51As you were out, I left a message.She may need some help as she's newIt is more clear here. One of the commonest failings of my own students is using 'as' instead of 'because
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Hans511) I am watching TV with my arms crossed.-> I am watching TV while my arms are crossed.Just the reverse. My arms are crossed while I am watching TV. / I'm keeping my arms crossed as I watch TV.
CJ
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