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katisolar
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Grammar help
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Hey guys....I need help solving a doubt...here it goes...
The word both is used incorrectly in:
a-she has invited both of us.
b- both my parents like riding.
c- both of them are not here.
d- Mary sends you both her love.
e- they both wanted to marry her.
The book I have said that letter C is the answer....but I can�t find where the mistake in that sentence is....
Can any of you help me, please???
Thanks,
K� |
13 Nov 2008
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alina sergeevna
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i think D is the answer!!!!!!
may be there is a mistake in your keys..... |
13 Nov 2008
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Maurice
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I would think that as the sentence is negative what would be correct would be "Neither of them are here"
Hope that it will help |
13 Nov 2008
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Starfish
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Hi Ka,
I think BOTH is used in positive sentences only..But I might be wrong! |
13 Nov 2008
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Mishuna
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I agree with maurice and starfish...however, at first sight, you would say that the wrong one is D. But D is OK: Mary sends you both (A and B) her love.
According to English USage (Collins Cobuild), you do not usually use both in negative sentences, For example, you do not say "Both his students were not here". You say "Neither of his students was there"
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13 Nov 2008
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Tere-arg
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Option C is incorrect because as they said before, both is only used in positive sentences.
The right one would be "Neither of them is here"
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13 Nov 2008
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katisolar
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Hey guys.....
Thank you all very much for your replies....You helped me a lot....
Dispite the different contributions , you gave me a starting point at where the problem was, then searching a little further.....it�s really letter C because of the positive usage of both...
I appreciated you taking your time to help me......
Thanks a million....
K�
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13 Nov 2008
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luadosolzinho
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On page 91 from the Practical English Usage (by Michael Swan) it says:
________________________________________________
Negative Structures
Instead of both ... not, we normally use neither.
Neither of them is here. (NOT Both of them are not here.)
_________________________________________________
Hope it helps.
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13 Nov 2008
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LA LUNA
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and to continue the discussion would it be okay to say(we all know c is wrong) None of them is here??? would be this another option??? |
13 Nov 2008
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maripa
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None of them is here would NOT be
another option in this case because none is used for more than two people |
13 Nov 2008
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Kaytsu
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None of them is here would be incorrect because �none of them� refers to more then one person and would need are instead of is
None of them are here would be correct
Where is your class? - None of them are here yet. The bus is running late. (which is a common occurance at my school) |
13 Nov 2008
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