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The Curious Posted 21 years ago
Vocabulary
Which is the correct use?
Hi,
Can you help me on this? What is the correct answer to this question:
It was Ms. Lisa and not Mr. Smith who completed the project all by---------.
a) himself b) herself c) ourselves d) themselves
Can you please also explain the correct grammar usage in this case?
Can you help me on this? What is the correct answer to this question:
It was Ms. Lisa and not Mr. Smith who completed the project all by---------.
a) himself b) herself c) ourselves d) themselves
Can you please also explain the correct grammar usage in this case?
Top answer
Hello TheCurious, Some possibilities: 1. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project 'all by himself': the quotation marks show that you are using the form that was used in the original statement. ) Or: 2.
- Hello TheCurious, Some possibilities: 1.
- It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project 'all by himself': the quotation marks show that you are using the form that was used in the original statement.
- ) Or: 2.
- It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project all by themselves: here, you are using 'themselves' to mean 'himself or herself'.
- This is very common, though examiners tend to frown on the usage.
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6 Answers
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Hello TheCurious,
Some possibilities:
1. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project 'all by himself':
the quotation marks show that you are using the form that was used in the original statement. (This sentence only makes sense in the context of correcting another statement.) Or:
2. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project all by
Some possibilities:
1. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project 'all by himself':
the quotation marks show that you are using the form that was used in the original statement. (This sentence only makes sense in the context of correcting another statement.) Or:
2. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project all by
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Hi
When we state a phrase like
It was Ms. Lisa and not Mr. Smith who completed the project all by
It would be a good idea to mention the green text between two commas to mention that it is a adjective subordinate modifying Ms. Lisa. Then it becomes very clear
It was Ms. Lisa , and not Mr. Smith , who completed the project all by
When we state a phrase like
It was Ms. Lisa and not Mr. Smith who completed the project all by
It would be a good idea to mention the green text between two commas to mention that it is a adjective subordinate modifying Ms. Lisa. Then it becomes very clear
It was Ms. Lisa , and not Mr. Smith , who completed the project all by
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All of those comments help the problem, Curious, but they don't solve it. The question is a poorly framed one, with no correct answer, as MrP points out. I would without question rebuild the sentence to avoid the ludicrousness:
Ms. Lisa completed the project all by herself; Mr Smith did nothing.
I realize that this is an immutable test question, but don't emulate
Ms. Lisa completed the project all by herself; Mr Smith did nothing.
I realize that this is an immutable test question, but don't emulate
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Another, rather limp, alternative:
1. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project singlehandedly.
MrP
1. It was Ms Lisa and not Mr Smith who completed the project singlehandedly.
MrP
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Thankyou all for providing me with a correct answer. Now I understand why the answer should be "herself".[<:o)]
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