| Author |
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lu
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 7:00 am
Post subject: such much, enter into |
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Please help me answer the following questions.
1. Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter my house. In the above
sentence, can I say " Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter into
my house."?
2. There is so much common knowledge about aliens that people can even
describe what they look like: tall and slender, with huge heads and
almond-shaped eyes.
In the above sentence, can I use "such much common knowledge" or "
such common knowledge" instead?
3. If they don't take action but ____, I'm afraid that they are unable
to settle the problem.
a) complaining b) to complain c) complaint d) complain
The answer is D. But I am wondering if the answer "b" is correct.
4.He watched TV rather than do his homework. In the above sentence,
can I say "he watched TV rather than doing his homework." ?
Thanks in advance!
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Alan Jones
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:23 pm
Post subject: Re: such much, enter into |
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"lu" <lcyiu@tp.edu.tw> wrote in message
news:1128395822.436574.79210@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Please help me answer the following questions.
1. Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter my house. In the above
sentence, can I say " Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter into
my house."?
|
No. "Enter in" is not used in modern English.
| Quote: | 2. There is so much common knowledge about aliens that people can even
describe what they look like: tall and slender, with huge heads and
almond-shaped eyes.
In the above sentence, can I use "such much common knowledge" or "
such common knowledge" instead?
|
No. If the point is the quantity of knowledge, then "so much" is correct.
| Quote: | 3. If they don't take action but ____, I'm afraid that they are unable
to settle the problem.
a) complaining b) to complain c) complaint d) complain
The answer is D. But I am wondering if the answer "b" is correct.
|
No, it isn't. In this construction the verb "complain" is parallel to the
verb "do[n't] take action", and the form has to be the same: the ordinary
present 3rd person plural "[they] complain". I'd expect an adverb such as
"merely" or "only" before "complain". Another construction: "If they
complain but take no positive action ...."
| Quote: | 4.He watched TV rather than do his homework. In the above sentence,
can I say "he watched TV rather than doing his homework." ?
|
That would sometimes be heard from native speakers but sounds slightly odd.
Another way: "He watched TV instead of doing his homework". The "rather
than" construction is admittedly strange when one tries to analyse it,
especially in the form "I had rather he did his homework before watching
TV". One just has to learn the pattern and imitate it without variation.
Alan Jones |
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Don Phillipson
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:55 pm
Post subject: Re: such much, enter into |
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"lu" <lcyiu@tp.edu.tw> wrote in message
news:1128395822.436574.79210@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | 1. Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter my house. In the above
sentence, can I say " Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter into
my house."?
|
Idiom A: "Enter my house . . . " This standard phrase requires
house as a direct object i.e. does not include the word into.
Idiom B. We use "enter into" in other contexts, e.g. enter into
negotiations, enter into a contract etc.
| Quote: | 2. There is so much common knowledge about aliens that people can even
describe what they look like: tall and slender, with huge heads and
almond-shaped eyes.
In the above sentence, can I use "such much common knowledge" or "
such common knowledge" instead?
|
A: "such much" is never used in English.
B: Although no formal rules can be cited, we never use
"common knowledge" for topics like extraterrestrials -- only
for knowledge that is universally shared (e.g. that fire is hot,
that night is dark, and so on. Many people disbelieve in
extraterrestrials i.e. there is no common knowledge about
this particular topic.)
| Quote: | 3. If they don't take action but ____, I'm afraid that they are unable
to settle the problem.
a) complaining b) to complain c) complaint d) complain
The answer is D. But I am wondering if the answer "b" is correct.
|
Answer D is right and answer B is wrong for grammatical reasons:
we do not use the infinitive prefix to in contexts like this.
| Quote: | 4.He watched TV rather than do his homework. In the above sentence,
can I say "he watched TV rather than doing his homework." ?
|
Yes, your version is preferable because more idiomatic.
All these points are subtle i.e. concern refined points of idiom
(some not simply explicable as either grammar or semantics.)
--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)
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Robert Lieblich
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 6:09 pm
Post subject: Re: such much, enter into |
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Alan Jones wrote:
| Quote: |
"lu" <lcyiu@tp.edu.tw> wrote in message
news:1128395822.436574.79210@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
Please help me answer the following questions.
1. Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter my house. In the above
sentence, can I say " Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter into
my house."?
No. "Enter in" is not used in modern English.
|
Except when it is: "Enter in block 3 of the form your total capital
gains for the year."
Anyway, the OP asked about "enter into," and that's idiomatic if a bit
stilted.
A note to the OP on punctuation: when a sentence containing a
quotation ends with a question mark, there's no need to put
punctuation at the end of the quotation. Your question should end ...
enter into my house"? Note that there is no space before the question
mark.
[ ... ]
--
Bob Lieblich
Careful reader (sometimes) |
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Adrian Bailey
Guest
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| Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:14 pm
Post subject: Re: such much, enter into |
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"lu" <lcyiu@tp.edu.tw> wrote in message
news:1128395822.436574.79210@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
| Quote: | Please help me answer the following questions.
1. Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter my house. In the above
sentence, can I say " Such a dirty boy cannot be allowed to enter into
my house."?
|
I suppose so, but I wouldn't recommend it.
| Quote: | 2. There is so much common knowledge about aliens that people can even
describe what they look like: tall and slender, with huge heads and
almond-shaped eyes.
In the above sentence, can I use "such much common knowledge"
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Never.
| Quote: | or "such common knowledge" instead?
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Not really in this context - it changes the meaning.
| Quote: | 3. If they don't take action but ____, I'm afraid that they are unable
to settle the problem.
a) complaining b) to complain c) complaint d) complain
The answer is D. But I am wondering if the answer "b" is correct.
|
I'd say so, but only because the sentence you've been given is rather
ugly/unidiomatic. A better sentence would be "If they don't take action but
only/just complain, I'm afraid that they won't be able to settle the
problem." Or: "If the only action they take is to complain, I'm afraid that
they'll be unable to settle the problem."
| Quote: | 4.He watched TV rather than do his homework. In the above sentence,
can I say "he watched TV rather than doing his homework." ?
|
Yes. But I don't recommend that you write like that in formal tests/texts.
Adrian |
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