Hi. It looks like the board has been "dead" for quite a while. So, I guess I'm resurrecting it :). Here's my question: I was reading a conversation about a couple of movies, and there were two sentences which caught my attention. One said, "The movie is set in ancient China." and the other said (about a different movie), "The movie takes place in Italy." Am I right in thinking that when we're talking about a movie's being set in a place, we're referring to where the plot takes place, like the movie Mummy (the first one) is set in ancient Egypt, and that when we're talking about where a movie takes place, we're discussing where it has been filmed, so technically, a movie can never take place in ancient China? Correct me, please, if I'm wrong. I'll be grateful.

rod03801: Interesting. So native speakers might have different ideas on the same subject. Thanks for your comment, and looking forward to seeing more replies from native speakers. You and your friends may not realize it, but you're of great help to me. I appreciate that.

GTCharlie: Ahh, I see. Thanks.

fukuhara: Perhaps it's wiser to state what I really have in mind rather than try to implicitly make native speakers confirm or reject it:

The tag question must be based on the main verb in the statement and must agree with the subject of the main verb as well, right?

In 1, there's no problem. I know that. But 3, grammatically speaking, is quite parallel with 1. So, again, grammatically speaking, 3 should be well-formed. However, it seems semantically speaking, it sounds odd.

2, on the other hand, seems to be grammatically wrong, at least as far as my knowledge of grammar says. But it seems to be OK to native speakers despite the fact that the tag question is based not on the main verb and its subject, but on the verb used in the embedded clause and its subject.

In other words, I want native speakers to tell me if a tag question can be based on the embedded clauses or not. Here are more examples which may help:


(For the sake of semantic problems, I won't use 'I' to start my sentences)

Statement: He knows you know she went out last night,....?


Possible tag questions:

1) doesn't he?
2) don't you?
3) didn't she?

(My knowledge says only number 1 is OK)

But, if I change the 'he' at the beginning of my statement with 'I', it seems things change:

Statement: I know you know she went out out last night, ...?

1) don't I?
2) don't you?
3) didn't she?

Here, it seems, based on the replies I got, that strikingly number 2 is OK, while nothing has really changed compared with the previous example.

I want natives to comment on my assumptions, please. Just tell me if they sound OK or not. Thanks in advance.

Could a native speaker of English (as well as anyone who's not a native, but good at it) tell me if the following tag questions are right or not?

1) You think I have two brothers, don't you?
2) I think you have two brothers, don't you?
3) I think you have two brothers, don't I?

fukuhara: Thank you. I appreciate it.

rod03801: Thank you very much.

rod03801: Suppose you're saying that sentence as if you're telling a personal story for someone:

"One day, as I was walking in the forest, I saw a really big dog. After some minutes it ran towards me and I started to run away. Usually, I am not a fast runner. But, I was running very fast after I had seen that huge dog. ..."

Do you think it sounds OK in this context?

And thanks for your help. I really appreciate it.

Is the following sentence OK?

I was running very fast after I had seen the huge dog.

Pedro Martínez: Thanks a lot. You're really helpful.

Is there any difference between the following sentences?

1) We were all tired BY the end of the day.
2) We were all tired AT the end of the day.

Bwild: Of course. Sorry if I've caused any trouble :D

Pedro Martínez: How about this: Is there any difference between when a movie is SET IN China and when it TAKES PLACE there?

Bwild: I reread my sentences and I got how I had written them poorly.

I should have written: Is there a difference between a movie's being set in China and ITS ( not it's) taking place there.

Bwild: being comes form is, doesn't it. I just used it in a different sentence and naturally I used being instead of is. I couldn't say " Is there any difference between a movie's IS set in China and it's taking place in China."

Anyway, now, is there any difference between these two sentences?


The movie takes place in China.

The movie is set in China.

rod03801: Thanks. So basically they're more or less the same thing.

Bwild: I guess the difference is obvious now, except, I think it must be the reverse. Otherwise the sentence in my book "It's a new action movie that is set in ancient China. Michelle Yeoh is in it." would be meaningless as there's no ancient China today to film the movie there.

Pedro Martínez: Thanks for the reply. I've seen both sentences in a book and from the context, I'd say there's difference in meaning as the book is teaching verbs used when people talk about movies. But I can't figure out what it is.

Here's what the book says ( there are two ads for two movies) :

1) It's a tragedy that takes place in Delhi, so it's in Hindi, but it's subtitled.

2) It's a new action movie that is set in ancient China. Michelle Yeoh is in it.

I'd appreciate a few more comments.

Hi. Is there any difference between a movie's being set in China and it's taking place in China?

Walter Montego: Hi there. I was away, yes. For a few months because I was studying for my MA exam. Now I'm back.

I really have to finish translating BK into Persian before Fencer contacts InterPol for help :-)

Walter Montego: Yeah, Google Translator is quite useful.

Does anyone speak  French here?  If yes, send me a pm please.  I want
you to translate a short paragraph into french for me please.

Walter Montego:Aint's is accepted here.  But it is said to be a rather informal form of am not, etc,. so It's better to avoid using it when speaking formally, which is often the case here in universities.

I've heard of no exceptions to what I said regarding 'have.'  If it means 'to possess,' it shouldn't be contracted.  Otherwise it can be.  That's all I've been taught.  But the natives make up the rules.  Except that 'notion' example, do you have any other cases in mind in which 'have' means 'to possess' but it is contracted?

KotDB:According to what I have learnt here in university, 'have' when used as a verb meaning to possess, cannot be contracted.  So basically the sentence "I've two cats at home." is wrong.  It is to be written in its full form when used as the main verb, but can be contracted when used as part of a verb like " I would've had to swim if I hadn't found my canoe."

KotDB:Thanks for the reply.  I checked the pics and they are similar to a great extent to what we have here.  Thanks again.

playBunny:I'm sorry it took so long to reply.  Thanks for the reply.  I checked the pics and the one that suited better was the first one: pram.  It looks more like what we have here, despite the fact that they have the 'collapsing' capability.

As for the other question, although I'm sure your answer must be thorough enough, I didn't get my answer!   My lack of knowledge it should be.

Let me ask my question in another way:

Which one of these explanations goes with which sentence?

1) I have an inner passion for swimming however I may not want to swim right now.  Or in other words, swimming is one of the things that I generally like and I do it when I feel like it, maybe now, maybe some other time.

2) Swimming is one of the things that I like and right now, I want to do it.  In other words, not only do I like it, but I want to do it right now.

***********************************************

Or maybe I can give you what I personally think and you can correct me:

I think when I say " I like swimming " I am referring to a general fact.  Swimming is a sport and it's fun and I like it.  Just like when I say I like hamburgers.  I may not be eating hamburgers in that particular time, but as a fact, I like them.

When I say " I like to swim " maybe I'm trying to say that I want to do it right now.  But I'm not sure.  So what I want to know is the difference between this sentence and the one above.

And, when I say " I'd like to swim " well, I used to think there was some sort of asking for permission in it.  But your example gives me the impression that it's conveying strong will.  So when I say " I'd like to swim ", I'm trying to say that I really really want to do it and do it now.

Thanks for helping me get the differences.

Two questions for the kind people here to answer:

1) Please give me certain situations in which these three sentences may be said:

• I like to swim.
• I like swimming.
• I would like to swim.

2) What is the name of the wagon like thing that people put babies in and carry around with them?  It usually has a handle for parents to push it with an dfour or more wheels.

Pedro Martínez:That's grammatically very proper English.  I'm sure about it.

Fencer:  What an answer!

fenceeeeeeer  "It's lurking right at the bottom of the list" 

aaru:Been studying it for quite a few years now!  Thanks for the compliment. 

aaru:Ahh, just like my Polish! 

Walter Montego:Whatdidyousay is a lawyer as far as I can remember.  Maybe he can help.

Rose:redsales should know.

Pedro Martínez:As you know Patrik, we have 3 kinds of /s/ on Farsi.  You may find it strange that many many people don't know when to use which.  I was walking on the streets yesterday just browsing the windows and noticed this:

قیمت های استسنايی

While it should be:

قیمت های استثنايی

It is only a matter of education.  People need to be taught these things.

Rose:Never forget the smileys!  I'd reply:

Hey, you there, I can't understand what you say

Marfitalu:I wasn't sure.  I have listened to some Turkish music and the text looks like what I have listened to.  But I may be wrong.

Rose:Sounds Turkish to me.  But I don't know!

Walter Montego:I apologize for the extra 's' that I had typed.  Looked it up now and there was no 's.'  It was 'make no mistake, .... .'

Well, about the books and professors, I use Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary as the main source.  What it says, I consider to be the reality and truth.  I use Websters Advanced Learner's Dictionary too, but not as frequently. 

As for my professors, I listen to what they say but never try to learn it before I check it with a more 'reliable' source such as a Native Speaker.  After all my profesors are Farsi speakers just like I. 

I am good at grammar, yes.  I use Practical English Usage, and English Grammar in Use as my main sources.  Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar and Oxford Guide to English Usage are very good and informative books that I use very often too.

And, as for whether or not I have an accent, I have always wanted to know whether a native speaker can easily understand I'm not a native or not, but I've never had the chance of speaking with a native.  maybe if one native speaker here would volunteer and listen to my recorded voice, I could understand that and let you know too! 

I especially appreciate an American and a British native speaker if possible.  

By the way, by 'And then there's your English as compared to my English.' did you mean that his English is different from yours? 

playBunny: I checked both words, error and mistake, with my Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary amd this is what it says:

MISTAKE: 1.An action or opinion that is foolish or wrong; and error in judgement.
                     2.A word, figure, sum, etc.,that is not correct.


Error: 1.A thing done wrongly, a mistake.
           2.The state of being wrong in belief or behaviour.


And this is what I just now found on the next page.  I hadn't noticed it before:

Note: Compare mistake, error, blunder, fault and defect.
         
They all refer to something that has not been done correctly or properly.  Mistake is the most      general and used in most situations: The letter had quite a few mistakes in it. Error is used when talking about calculations and in technical or formal contexts: I think there are a few errors in your calculations.  A blunder is a stupid or careless and quite serious mistake made because of bad judgement: A hospital blunder led to 500 cancer patients getting the wrong radiation treatment.  Fault emphasizes a person's responsibility for a mistake: Tom broke the window but it was my fault for letting him play football in the house.  A fault can also be an imperfection in a person or thing: There was a design fault in the train doors.  A defect is a serious imperfection:  The causes of many birth defects have not yet been discovered.

**********************************

I cannot fully understand the meaning of this sentence:

"Accidents are caused by errors. (Though you could mistake something in
error, lol, eg the pilot error could be that he mistakenly pressed the
ejector seat button instead of the seat adjustment button.)"

What do you mean 'you could mistake something in error?'

If I understand it correctly, you may mean that here 'error' has a stronger meaning than 'mistake,' but I'm not sure.

Thanks for the etymology of the two words.  One of the main problems that I have with English is choice of vocabulary.  Here's an example:

I see a very beautiful scene.  I want to show how much I'm impressed with it.  There are many words that I can use:

Wonderful, magnificent, fabulous, incredible, marvelous, fascinating, unbelieveable, terrific,etc..

Now suppose I use 'wonderful.'  We move on and we see a more beautiful scene.  Now I have a problem to deal with.  I no longer know which word to choose because I don't know which one shows that I am more impressed with this scene than the previous one!

Or, when there are some words that I think have the same meaning, I am not sure which one to choose, because they may not really have the exact same meaning:

Probably, perhaps, possibly, maybe, may, might, likely.

Like I don't know if I see the sky's cloudy, which one of the following sentences I can use:

• Probably it'll rain
• Perhaps it'll rain.
• It'll possibly rain.
• Maybe it'll rain.
• It may rain.
• It might rain.
• It's likely to rain.

Well, I guess I will never be able to solve these problems unless I live among native speakers.  When I see what they use in what situation, I can learn that too!

Walter Montego:I don't know for sure where only one of them can be used.  But I can give you several examples from my dictionaries so that you can see if in all cases they can be interchangeably used:

This isn't my bill.  There must be a mistake.
I made a mistake about Julie.  She's nice, really.
It was a big mistake to send her to boarding-school.
A week after the wedding she realized she had made a terrible mistake.
Make no mistakes, we're facing a major financial crisis.

The accident was the result of pilot error.
Rising costs have left us very little margin of error.

Marfitalu:As far as I know, error and mistake are different in english.  A mistake is made due to lack of attention or concentration for example, but an error occures because of the person's lack of knowledge.  So an error is not avoidable while you can avoid making mistakes.  Any English speakers willing to correct me if I'm wrong?

par erreur  = by error?

Marfitalu:Rose maybe!  But I wouldn't understand any more 

Marfitalu:Naah, it's OK.  So I didn't guess even that little correctly?  If my professor would know, he'd kill me! 

Marfitalu:   My university professor really expects me to understand all this, but I have no idea what it says.  Let me see how much I remember:

It's something about you creating a new button?
And you don't want something!

Good, my mother should be proud of his son

playBunny:Very interesting.  You are very informative. 

playBunny:And what does this mean?


BARBITURIX the Gaul: Who deadens you in small doses and sends to you to
Heaven in large amounts. Warning: Sensitive people keep away.

What does this mean?

BARBITURIX,le gaulois qui vous endort à petite dose et vous envoie au nirvana à forte dose ..
attention personnes sensibles s'abstenir ..

playBunny: This time I got the joke part.  However, my Oxford Dictionary does say that the 'r' in 'word' can be omitted! And so can be both R's in 'furthermore.'