Re: Grammaticaly correct sentences (or not...)

At 14:26:03 on Mon, 24 Mar 2008, myname <lslfkjs@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in <47e7abff$0$869$ba4acef3@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>:

About sentences 3, 6 and 7 (duplication of Mel), if we were to use
another name (Leslie), they would be correct, wouldn't they ?

3) It is a picnic that Mel thinks is going to be enjoyed by Leslie
6) Mel thinks a picnic is going to be enjoyed by Leslie
7) Mel thinks that a picnic is going to be enjoyed by Leslie

Yes, they would all be grammatically correct, although they are not "natural" English. As a rule of thumb, the passive voice is best avoided(!). "Natural" English would incline towards:

3) It is a picnic that Mel thinks Leslie is going to enjoy
5) Mel thinks Leslie is going to enjoy a picnic
7) Mel thinks that Leslie is going to enjoy a picnic

One particular difference between the three sentences is that, although they all refer to "a picnic", the first one clearly refers to a *specific* picnic; the other two refer to Leslie enjoying any possible picnic, but not a specific one. What makes the difference is the "It is" at the start of the first sentence; this indicates that a particular picnic ("it") is the subject of the sentence.
--
Molly Mockford
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety
deserve neither liberty nor safety - Benjamin Franklin
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.)
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Grammaticaly correct sentences (or not...)
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