Which Parts Are Wrong? (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Which Parts Are Wrong?
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

11 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

Paco
Senior Member
Hong Kong
Joined 4070 days ago
145 posts - 251 votes

Speaks: Cantonese*

Message 9 of 11

14 June 2014 at 11:58pm | IP Logged

smallwhite wrote:

I would've answered C.
"His recommendation that Air Force investigates the UFO sighting was approved by the
commission and WAS referred to the appropriate committee".
Someone approved his recommendation; someone referred his recommendation to the
appropriate committee.
What does the sentence mean without that "WAS"?

Quote:

"His recommendation that the Air Force investigate the UFO sighting was
approved by the commission and referred to the appropriate committee".

dampingwire wrote:

His recommendation that the Air Force investigate the UFO
sighting was approved by the commission and WAS referred to the appropriate
committee".

Hi smallwhite,

I think I get what you mean. You are half right. The absence of the latter "was" at
first results in ambiguity. It can mean merely "referred", just like what you think;
but actually, it can also mean "was referred", which is like a kind of contraction of
sentences. This way, you decide which one is correct according to the context. Here,
obviously only latter makes sense.

There indeed are cases where, if a "was" is absent, both possibilities would make
sense, which leads to real trouble. In those cases, an explicit "was" is imperative.
However, I find that English, quite similar to Chinese/Cantonese, generally omits as
much as possible as long as the meaning can be made clear.

Edited by Paco on 15 June 2014 at 12:04am
1 person has voted this message useful

Monox D. I-Fly
Senior Member
Indonesia
monoxdifly.iopc.us
Joined 4928 days ago
762 posts - 664 votes

Speaks: Indonesian*

Message 10 of 11

16 June 2014 at 9:41am | IP Logged

Thanks for all your helps and suggestions, guys! :)
Also, Paco, I got those articles from my acquaintance who was preparing to her college entrance test. A type of the questions is to read an English sentence and find out which part is wrong from the four options. As for my own native materials, I go with far easier readings like Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and Sherlock Holmes (well, this one is not as easy at it sounds). I also read 50 Shades of Grey if that title is allowed to be mentioned here.
1 person has voted this message useful

smallwhite
Pentaglot
Senior Member
Australia
Joined 5101 days ago
537 posts - 1045 votes

Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin, French, Spanish

Message 11 of 11

17 June 2014 at 10:36am | IP Logged

That makes sense. Thanks, dampingwire and Paco!

1 person has voted this message useful

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