0
Sitifan Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

When

1. I was calling home when the phone went dead.

2. When the phone went dead, I was calling home.

#1 is correct. Is #2 acceptable?
  

Top answer

Hello Sitifan, when the phone went dead is an adverbial clause of time. Such clauses normally can be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. In your example, the adverbial clause is obligatory at the end because it represents climactic information in narrative - it gives the more important information and aims to provide an emphatic climax.

— Andriy Lapin

  • Hello Sitifan, when the phone went dead is an adverbial clause of time.
  • Such clauses normally can be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence.
  • In your example, the adverbial clause is obligatory at the end because it represents climactic information in narrative - it gives the more important information and aims to provide an emphatic climax.
  • Therefore, I suppose that the first sentence is more acceptable.
  • Please note that a comma can optionally be used before when.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

7 Answers
0
Hello Sitifan,

when the phone went dead is an adverbial clause of time. Such clauses normally can be placed either at the beginning or at the end of the sentence. In your example, the adverbial clause is obligatory at the end because it represents climactic information in narrative - it gives the more important information and aims to provide an emphatic climax. Therefore, I supp
0
0
#2 is not much acceptable. but good thinking can make it

Shanoorsa
0
0
Dear Shanoorsa,

if you suppose that my argumentation is defective, please suggest an alternative explanation and account for the correctness of the the second clause.

Respectfully, Gleb Chebrikoff.
0
0
I wouldn't fault your explanation Gleb. I suppose the simple answer to the original questions is 1)Yes and 2)Yes. You go further and treat the issue of narrative structure with insight. Context is all however, and in response to a question "What were you actually doing when the 'phone died?" the second sentence might better serve the purpose because it echoes the question before providing an a
0
0

Shanoorsa, I would say the second sentence is perfectly acceptable grammatically and may even be preferred contextually. Have a look at Gleb's excellent comment on narrative structure and the effect of putting the active ingredient of the story after the adverbial clause. As he says, this heightens the dramatic effect by delaying its delivery. Imagine if you will a child who has been forb
0
0
Thank you for your comment, Montur.

I definitely don't regard your post as an instance of 'nitpicking' because it is entirely relevant to the discussion and quite useful. It stands to reason that context can substantially change the form of the utterance, but, in the absence of any contextual links, I was looking at these sentences from the viewpoint of what is normally acceptabl
0
0
I often find that, when I'm asked if something is "acceptable" in English, my first response is "No, it isn't" and then I find myself uncovering instances where it might be in a given context. Using a stative verb in the continuous is a case in point. Of course there are occasions when we might say "I am loving.........", but would it be wise to tell an Intermediate student that? Probably not
0

Related Questions