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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
work up natural
Hello,
This is a line from a British drama set in 1912:
"Just once in my life, I’d like to sleep until I woke up natural."
A maid said that when another maid woke her up at 6 a.m. I imagine she thinks something similar to the line nearly every morning. My question is why the past form 'woke up' after 'until I' is used. And can 'natural' here be for some effect because this is a drama, or is it common? Would you explain it? Thank you.
This is a line from a British drama set in 1912:
"Just once in my life, I’d like to sleep until I woke up natural."
A maid said that when another maid woke her up at 6 a.m. I imagine she thinks something similar to the line nearly every morning. My question is why the past form 'woke up' after 'until I' is used. And can 'natural' here be for some effect because this is a drama, or is it common? Would you explain it? Thank you.
Top answer
This is an example of the use of the "past tense" to describe hypothetical or imagined actions, which may be referred to as "unreal" past tense or considered to be subjunctive mood. The usage is similar in concept to "I wish I had more money", for example. In standard English it should be "woke up naturally".
- This is an example of the use of the "past tense" to describe hypothetical or imagined actions, which may be referred to as "unreal" past tense or considered to be subjunctive mood.
- The usage is similar in concept to "I wish I had more money", for example.
- In standard English it should be "woke up naturally".
- "natural" may be meant to signal lower-class or less educated speech.
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2 Answers
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This is an example of the use of the "past tense" to describe hypothetical or imagined actions, which may be referred to as "unreal" past tense or considered to be subjunctive mood. The usage is similar in concept to "I wish I had more money", for example.
In standard English it should be "woke up naturally". "natural" may be meant to signal lower-class or less educated speech.
In standard English it should be "woke up naturally". "natural" may be meant to signal lower-class or less educated speech.
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