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ESL forum >
Grammar and Linguistics > Is this sentence correct?
Is this sentence correct?
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Ruwayda37
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Is this sentence correct?
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Hello dear members,
Would you please explain if the following sentence is correct or not:
"She felt happy when she could find her bag." |
9 Nov 2014
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ELOJOLIE274
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Although the sentence is grammaticaly correct it sounds weird... (don �t ask me why!)
i would have said "she felt happy when she was able to find/locate her bag"
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9 Nov 2014
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isa2
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As elojolie has already said, it �s grammatically correct, but sounds a bit odd.
I would say: "She was happy when she found her bag again/ at last." (omitting the "could")
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9 Nov 2014
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olgavai
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It is not grammatically correct since " could" shows ability in the past e.g I could swim when I was 10 years old. The correct form is "was able to" showing that I managed to do sth after having a hard time: " She felt happy when she was able to find her bag." or you could use Simple past for a past action : She felt happy when she found her bag. |
9 Nov 2014
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Ruwayda37
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Thank you very much but in the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv196.shtml
it is stated that" We tend to use could when we are talking about ability generally. " and "We tend to use was able to or managed to if we are talking about what happened in a particular situation or are referring to a specific achievement." Do the words "tend to" mean that the rule may not be always applied? |
9 Nov 2014
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redcamarocruiser
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Yes, Ruwayda, in my opinion, the words "tend to" means that the rule may not always be applied.
When I read the sentence, "She felt happy when she could find her bag," it reminded me of when I was not allowed to search in the post office Lost and Found holdings to look for some books that I had shipped and which had gotten lost in the mail.
The word �could � meant "was allowed to" or "was able to" to me. But it did not mean that she did find her bag--just that she was able to or allowed to.
That may be why the sentence sounded odd to Elojolie, as it also did to me and isa2, because we are assuming that you actually want to say she found her bag, not that she was allowed to find it.
I agree with isa2 and olgavai �s suggestions omitting the �could �.
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9 Nov 2014
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Ruwayda37
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Thanks so much for your clarification, redcamarocruiser |
10 Nov 2014
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