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Ask for help > Without as a conjunction.
Without as a conjunction.
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spinney
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Without as a conjunction.
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OK, I had a student point this out to me when I told her that her use of without in a sentence was wrong. If you look at the conjunction part, I don �t know if it �s me or whether it �s one of those Brit/US English thingys, but this just seems plain wrong. I would have said "I´d never have known you without you speaking to me." What �s the general opinion here? And while I �m here. I corrected this: We are sure that you will spend a beautiful time in this amazing city to this: We are sure that you will have a beautiful time in this amazing city. I know I �m right to do so, and I know that I can just tell her it �s a collocation thing but can anybody tell me a little more that will help. The best I can come up with is to say that we spend time doing things and we have adjective time. Thanks in advance.
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4 Feb 2017
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cunliffe
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Hi Dale. I think the first one is one of those things where it makes immediate sense, but the more you look at it, the weirder it seems. Your student �s sentence doesn �t sound English and your suggestion is English but erm... it still sounds slightly odd. Have you been out of the country for too long?  Did I tell you btw that I am writing a course on how to make friends and charm people?  I suppose it depends on the context (?), but I would expect something like: I didn �t realise it was you until you spoke / I only recognised you by your voice/ Unless you had spoken, I wouldn �t have known it was you. I think you are absolutely right in the second one and your explanation seems good to me.
Edit: Have I missed the point, which is using �without� as a conjunction? Without reading things thoroughly, you will not answer correctly. Nah, that doesn�t work as an example and I�m not much help! Let�s hope Frau or Bruce or someone like that is around!
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4 Feb 2017
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spinney
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Hi Lynne! Good point, but I need to make the context clearer in the first case. She didn �t write that sentence but she wrote something similar. The sentence there is from an Oxford English site (shock horror!). I think the author is trying to say "I would never have got to know you without you speaking to me, first." Perhaps, in the context of "recognize" it would sound better "I would never have known it was you if you hadn �t spoken to me," which again, sounds OK at first but the more you look at it, the weirder it sounds. I think I �ll take an aspirin and lie down for a bit.  (Or a whisky, as it �s Saturday)
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4 Feb 2017
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redcamarocruiser
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"he won �t be able to go without we know it" . The usage is archaic and means "without it being the case that." Dictionary.com lists unless as the alternative or replacement for wothout used as a conjunction. 11.Midland and Southern U.S. unless. |
4 Feb 2017
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yanogator
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On the "time" thing, I would simplify the explanation. We "spend time", but don �t "spend a time". Bruce |
4 Feb 2017
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ldeloresmoore
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It sounds completely bizarre to me. I �d have said.. "......had you not spoken to me" --- or --- "....without you speaking to me." |
5 Feb 2017
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FrauSue
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The "spend" is easier to explain, I think: We spend time OR spend a [determined period of time] when talking about the bare fact that our time was occupied in a certain place or activity. We have a [adjective] time when talking about the quality of the time rather than the length, location or activity. I �m going to spend some time relaxing. I spent a weekend in Barcelona. You �ll need to spend at least two hours on the homework. Did you have a nice time? Hope you have a lovely time in China! I had a really bad time of it during the chicken pox outbreak. |
5 Feb 2017
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FrauSue
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And thank you, Lynne - that �s the first time anyone has ever mentioned me in the same breath as Bruce! I feel very honoured.  |
5 Feb 2017
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spinney
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Righty ho, folks! Thank you all very much for your input. You �re a lovely bunch, so you are! |
6 Feb 2017
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cunliffe
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Take a bow, FrauSue! I miss Les (ldthemagicman) and dear almaz - where are they nowadays? |
6 Feb 2017
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yanogator
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We still hear from Alex a couple times a month. |
6 Feb 2017
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