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Thread: never to let me have a sense of

  1. #1
    jiang is offline Key Member
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    Default never to let me have a sense of

    Dear teachers,


    She went out of her way never to let me have a sense of color-superiority.
    Is “never” here used incorrectly? Or is "to" used incorrectly?

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Thank you in advance.

    Jiang

  2. #2
    5jj's Avatar
    5jj
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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    No. No.

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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    Why do you think they're used incorrectly, jiang?

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    jiang is offline Key Member
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    Hi birdeen's call,

    She went out of her way never to let me have a sense of color-superiority.

    I thought it should be: She went out of her way and did not let me have a sense of color-superiority.

    Jiang




    Quote Originally Posted by birdeen's call View Post
    Why do you think they're used incorrectly, jiang?

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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    Quote Originally Posted by jiang View Post
    Hi birdeen's call,

    She went out of her way never to let me have a sense of color-superiority.

    I thought it should be: She went out of her way and did not let me have a sense of color-superiority.

    Jiang


    This wouldn't be incorrect, jiang, but it wouldn't be very natural either. I think the problem might be that you don't understand the idiom "go out of one's way to do something". You can find an explanation with examples .

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    Seriah is offline Newbie
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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    I think that 'she went out of her way to never let me...' sounds more natural than 'she went out of her way never to let me'. It makes sense either way though.

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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    I've just noticed that I failed to provide a link. Sorry. Here it is: go out of way - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
    jiang and 5jj like this.

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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    I think it's very much personal preference. I'm for '...never to let me ...'.
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    jiang is offline Key Member
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    Hi birdeen's call,

    I learned the phrase "to out of one's way to do something" long ago. The problem is with "never" here. I know we can say "to out of one's way (not) to do something" but I don't know "never" can replace "not".

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Thank you in advance.

    Jiang

    Quote Originally Posted by birdeen's call View Post
    This wouldn't be incorrect, jiang, but it wouldn't be very natural either. I think the problem might be that you don't understand the idiom "go out of one's way to do something". You can find an explanation with examples .

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    Tdol is offline Editor, UsingEnglish.com
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    Default Re: never to let me have a sense of

    Quote Originally Posted by fivejedjon View Post
    I think it's very much personal preference. I'm for '...never to let me ...'.
    I'm a never-to-letter too.

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