Would you correct my English? ( Feb. 15 )

Question

Hello. I wrote two dialogues. Will you correct them?

No. 1

M: Cathy, that's my cup.

F: Oops. Sorry, Takashi. Yours looks like mine.

M: Yes, both have black stripes against a yellow background.

But don't worry. I never mind.

No. 2

M: Have you read the latest "Harry Hotter" yet?

F: No. I've long wanted to read it. How about you?

M: Of course I have. Shall I lend it to you?

F: Why not? I'd love to.

Thank you. kenta

Mr Wordy · Accepted Answer

No. 1

M: Cathy, that's my cup.

F: Oops. Sorry, Takashi. Yours looks like mine.

M: Yes, both have black stripes against a yellow background. -- Grammatically OK, but realistically would anyone bother to say this?

But don't worry. ~~I never mind.~~ -- You can't say "I never mind" here, but you could say "(But) never mind" as an alternative to "(But) don't worry".

No. 2

M: Have you read the latest "Harry Potter" yet? -- unless "Harry Hotter" is a parody I've not heard of!

F: No. I've ~~long~~ wanted to read it for ages/for a long time. How about you? -- "I've long wanted to ..." is correct English but it's mainly a literary form and sounds a bit odd in conversation. (There is also the picky question of how long you can have wanted to read the "latest" book, since it probably hasn't been available for very long.)

M: Of course I have. Shall I lend it to you? -- This is good English, but in practice "Do you want to / Would you like to borrow it?" seems more likely.

F: Why not? ~~I'd love to.~~ -- Love to what? (However, if the previous remark was "Do you want to borrow it?" then "I'd love to" would be fine.)

Khoff · Answer

I'm wondering how "black stripes against a yellow background" is different from yellow stripes against a black background.  How about just "black and yellow stripes"?

Kenta · Answer

Thank you, both. Your comments are very instructive!

kenta

Would you correct my English? ( Feb. 15 )

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