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Hela Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

What's more idiomatic?

0Dear teachers, 02br
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00In English is it more idiomatic to say “don’t you remember your old friends now?” than “you forget your old friends now?” 02br
00If this is the case, would you please tell me if there is a reason why English would rather use : 02br
00a) the verb “not remember” (negative) instead of “forget” (affirmative)? 02br
00b) the interrogative form rather the affirmative form, even in informal language? 02br
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00All the best, 02br
00Hela0-
  

Top answer

0Hi Hela02br 02br 00I think people are going to have difficulty answering this question simply because there is no context. 0-

— Yankee

  • 0Hi Hela02br 02br 00I think people are going to have difficulty answering this question simply because there is no context.
  • 0-
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9 Answers
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0Hi Hela02br
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00I think people are going to have difficulty answering this question simply because there is no context. However, my gut feeling says that the first one would be more likely -- but only because 'forget' would more easily or more often be used in a different tense.0-
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0Here is more context Yankee 05002br
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00Tammy has been waiting for 00 at the library for an hour00. 00Finally00, 00he arrives 00/ he comes at last.02br
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00Tammy (00ironically00): 00Take your time my dear 00! 00Don’t you remember your own a00ppoint
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0Hi Hela,02br
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00Based on the given context, I would say this00: 02br
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00Hi Tex, you finally got here, but it's ok, just take your time. (being sarcastic)02br
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00Didn’t you remember your appointment?02br
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00Did you forget your appointment? 050010id2
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0Hi Hela02br
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00There probably isn't any one comment that would be the "most likely thing" to say to Tex. The comment(s) would depend the personalities involved and also on whether Tex had often kept Tammy waiting in the past.02br
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00I don't really understand why you want to use the word "own" unless you want to imply that he forgets appointments
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0Thank you for your replies. 02br
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00Amy, this is a translation into English this is why I've inserted "own" before appointments and I used the auxiliary "do" in the present. And what I wanted to know is if my sentences sounded idiomatic to an "English ear". 05002br
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00Is it also possible to replace "appointment" by "date" or "rendezvous" in thi
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0Hi Hela02br
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00Translations can be tough, especially with such minimal context. 02br
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00What about these:02br
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01i00"Take your time, Tex my dear! Are you now forgetting your appointments?"02i02br
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00Whether you use 01i00appointment, date02i00 or 01i00
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0Hi,02br
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00So is it possible to use the progressive ? "01i00Are you now forgetting your appointments?"02i02br
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00Does it refer tp a new habit?02br
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00See you0-
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0Hi Hela02br
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00I didn't like the sound of the sentence with the simple present tense and the word 'now'. In your sentence, the word 'now' suggests to me that this activity has just recently begun. In this sentence, I'd say the continuous would be understood as a new, current "activity" (the forgetting of appointments). But the continuous combined with the plural 'appo
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0Thank you Yankee. You're very helpful.02br
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00Have a nice day 050010id1
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