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4Likes- 05-Sep-2011, 15:50 #1
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have something to somebody Could you please help me understand the meaning of sentences having such a syntax? For example, "They have the house to themselves".
I can't understand what it means!
Thank you so much!
- 05-Sep-2011, 16:44 #2
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Re: have something to somebody That is an idiomatic phrase and it means that they are alone in the house.
We have the place to ourselves = no one else is here.I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.
- 06-Sep-2011, 02:57 #3
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Threadstarter / Original Poster Re: have something to somebody So does it mean we can't make a sentense like "I have the house to you"? Or it makes another sense?
Originally Posted by Barb_D 
Thank you so much!
- 06-Sep-2011, 03:14 #4
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Re: have something to somebody No, it doesn't work that way.
I can have something to myself.
We can have something to ourselves.
You can have something to yourself.
It has to be reflexive.I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.
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