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Ask for help > Can anyone help me??
Can anyone help me??
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Silvia33
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Can anyone help me??
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Hi friends!!!!
I came across these two sentences in a book (Twilight) and I �d like to know whether they are grammatically correct or not.
Here �s the first one:
The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born.
And this is the other one:
I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. (Why OLDER and not OLD?)
Hope someone can help.
Thanks in advance
Silvia |
10 Aug 2009
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maribelinna
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I think that the correct sentence is "it has belonged to me since I was born". The passive sentence that you have doesn�t sound good to me... The second sentence I�m not pretty sure, I think it must be "older than mine" or "as old as mine", but it�s just my opinion |
10 Aug 2009
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Isabelucha
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Hi there!
The 1st sentence, I don �t think is really correct... There are mixed verbs ...
I think we should say "It had belonged to me" with no "been" in the middle. It �s past perfect tense- verb have in the past plus past participle of the main verb (in this case, belong).
Or
We could also say "It had been given to me/owned by me"
The 2nd sentence... I can �t really see a mistake there. Maybe the writer wanted to say that there were young and old cars; his car was older just like the other old ones(older than the new ones he could also see) .
I hope I was clear enough... and it helped...
Isabelucha. |
10 Aug 2009
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**********
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The room was familiar; it had been belonged to me since I was born. No way, my friend.
However, if the character says the room was familiar, it means that he recognized the room. The room must have been changed, which could mean that the room is no longer his; in this case, the character could say it had belonged, meaning: but no longer does.
I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy.
Older is a comparative: Is there any term to which it can be compared? I mean, does the author refer newer cars? If he doesn�t, the sentence is wrong. If he does, the text is not clear, because the terms of comparison must be close enough. You can scan the page and send it to me and I�ll figure it out.
Well, my friend, I was reading a very fashionable writer, one of these days, and see what I found: the subject in the plural and the verb in the singular, so I thought: hello! What are editors for?
 Nice summer readings.
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11 Aug 2009
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libertybelle
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Not all printed books are perfect! They often have typos too.
I have an old Agatha Christie book filled with typos.
This is definitely a typo.
I also agree with Nikadixon - older is comparative.
(comparing two or more things - one is older than the other)
very elementary grammar.
L
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11 Aug 2009
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goodnesses
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I think the first one is definitely incorrect. It should be "had belonged" and not "has belonged" as suggested above. The writer is talking about a period of time that is completely finished in the past. If we use "has belonged" it infers that the house is still his property at the moment he is speaking.
For the second one as nikadixon said, we need some more context to decide whether is correct or not. Because we can omit the "than ..." part when it is understood or already mentioned.
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11 Aug 2009
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Zora
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The first part is an error or a typo that was overlooked when editing... BUT the second part is correct.
You can say, "He has an older vehicle..." meaning that it �s old compared to what is ever on the market now. The meaning is implied.
Other examples:
My brother bought an older house... - means the house is not new... probably quite a few years old.
My mom has an older edition of "Twilight" in her office desk...
The girl got the older Tiffany lamp for her 20th birthday. Her younger sister �s lamp was from the 40 �s.
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11 Aug 2009
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**********
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Zora, My brother bought an older house... implies a comparison: older than what? To say such a sentence there must be a reference to another house before.
My mom has an older edition of "Twilight" in her office desk... it is implied that the edition your mother has, is older than Silvia �s (probably doesn �t come with the typo).
In the example The girl got the older Tiffany lamp for her 20th birthday. Her younger sister �s lamp was from the 40 �s both terms of comparison - lamp 1 and lamp 2 - are present. We don �t know if it is the case in Silvia �s example.
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11 Aug 2009
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Zora
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I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older like mine, nothing flashy. - is an implied comparison...
"I drove around the school, following the line of traffic. I was glad to see that most of the cars were older CARS like mine, nothing flashy. - it is being compared to another car!
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11 Aug 2009
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**********
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Well, Zora, I have already read the sentence in context. Considering the context, the sentence is acceptable, due to a number of inferences that can be made, but definitely inaccurate, I must say. Basic rule in any language: to have a comparative, there must be the two terms compared (also basic Aristotle �s logic).
It�s midnight here. I�m afraid I�ll have to leave the thread. But it was interesting discussing the subject. Thank you all. |
11 Aug 2009
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Silvia33
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THANK YOU ALL!!!!!!!!! Your explanations were really helpful and clear (as usual!!!!!!!) 
Thanks for taking your precious time to read and answer my questions!
Silvia  |
11 Aug 2009
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