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snew
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:08 am
Post subject: A grammatical error or not? |
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I'm reading an American novel these days and encountered sentences like
"what I try to do is identify the whole fact". As an English teacher I
always consider such sentences without a "to" to be wrong, but they are
everywhere in that book. I'm puzzled. Is it acceptable in American
English or in oral expressions? |
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Einde O'Callaghan
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 3:27 am
Post subject: Re: A grammatical error or not? |
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A a native speaker (and English teacher) I don't feel that the sentence
is wrong, merely more informal than what you suggest.
Regards, Einde O'Callaghan |
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snew
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:30 am
Post subject: Re: A grammatical error or not? |
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So it's just the difference between formal and informal genres? I see.
Thanks very much! |
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Nick Wagg
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:21 pm
Post subject: Re: A grammatical error or not? |
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| Quote: | I'm reading an American novel these days...
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I think you mean something like "at the moment" or "currently"
rather than "these days". The latter indicates an activity that is
general or habitual that occurs over a longer period of time than
it takes to read a novel.
For instance, "These days I use Colgate toothpaste" or
"Nobody says 'please' these days".
BTW, does "snew" imply that you are a Winnie-the-Pooh fan? |
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