Feb 21, 2012 08:37
12 yrs ago
English term
It’s my young 4-year-old girl, Susan, who saw them while she was playing
Non-PRO
English
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General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Is it correct to say... ?
It’s my young 4-year-old girl, Susan, who saw them while she was playing in the verandah. I had informed her that if she ever saw three little girls she immediately had to report it to me and that’s what she did.
Responses
| 4 +2 | Not incorrect, but... |
Tony M
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| 4 | Not incorrect to say it, but... |
David Moore (X)
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Responses
+2
17 mins
Selected
Not incorrect, but...
...there are several things about it that don't sound quite natural.
For a start, as the rest of the sentence is in the past tense, it would be more nomral to say "It was my..."
Also, "my 4-year-old girl" sounds odd — if she is 'my', then presumably she is his/her daughter, so it would be more natural to say that; the specific use of 'my...girl' would tend to imply some other, less orthodox relationship, an implication which might or might not be welcome.
In addition, starting with "It is / was..." like this isn't terribly natural in EN (common, for example, in languages like FR!) Unless there was some special reason for the particular wording, a native speaker would probably be more likely to say something like: "My daughter Susan was the one who saw them..."
All in all, not patently wrong, but doesn't read all that smoothly / naturally either.
For a start, as the rest of the sentence is in the past tense, it would be more nomral to say "It was my..."
Also, "my 4-year-old girl" sounds odd — if she is 'my', then presumably she is his/her daughter, so it would be more natural to say that; the specific use of 'my...girl' would tend to imply some other, less orthodox relationship, an implication which might or might not be welcome.
In addition, starting with "It is / was..." like this isn't terribly natural in EN (common, for example, in languages like FR!) Unless there was some special reason for the particular wording, a native speaker would probably be more likely to say something like: "My daughter Susan was the one who saw them..."
All in all, not patently wrong, but doesn't read all that smoothly / naturally either.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thanks"
15 mins
Not incorrect to say it, but...
...it is a little colloquial.
If you write it, it would more often be written "It WAS my..." - oh, and yes, also normally ON a verandah.
If you write it, it would more often be written "It WAS my..." - oh, and yes, also normally ON a verandah.
Discussion