Re: Is that right?

Big Al, (Iso Allo) wrote:
> Salvatore Volatile wrote:
>> Big Al, (Iso Allo) wrote:
>>> I have some sentences, but I'am not sure; is they right,
>>> so check it, please:
>>>
>>> - Only strong (when talking some person) can be survive.
>>
>> I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. Only a strong person can
>> survive; only the strong can survive?
>>
> I mean exactly "person" (human or animal).

We generally don't speak of animals as 'people', though I *have* heard one
person refer to "cats and other kinds of people". (Note: Sparky has
contended that 'people' is not the plural of 'person'.)

Only a strong person can survive. Only a strong animal can survive. Only
the strong can survive.

>>> - I allways put two pieces of sugar in my tea.
>>
>> always
>>
>> That's grammatical, but not idiomatic -- one doesn't generally speak
>> of "pieces of sugar". In informal AmE you can say "two sugars",
>> where a "sugar" is some unit of sugar (e.g. a teaspoon, packet [= BrE
>> "parcelette"?], or a conventionally-sized sugar cube).
>>
> Actually, I mean "lump of sugar", but I don't know it, before today.

Okay. You can say 'lump' (though to me that seems old-fashioned). Check
with Coop.
>
>>> - Some years ago, happens a terrible car accident.
>>
>> Some years ago a terrible car accident happened.
>>
> Is a "happened" gone tense?

I'm not sure what "gone tense" means. "Has happened" would be incorrect
there.

>>> - I put some time ago Christmas lights top on my room window.
>>
>> A while ago I put Christmas lights on the top of my window.
>>
> While? I must next time say it: "some days ago, I put Christmas..."
> because Christmas lights are top of my window at least three days.

I'd say "a few days ago".

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