Results 1 to 7 of 7
Like Tree7Likes
  • 1 Post By gio
  • 1 Post By emsr2d2
  • 1 Post By gio
  • 1 Post By Barb_D
  • 2 Post By TheParser
  • 1 Post By philo2009

Thread: which one?

  1. 25-Jan-2012, 19:53 #1
    gio
    gio is offline Junior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • Greek
      • Home Country:
      • Greece
      • Current Location:
      • Greece
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    43
    Teacher

    Default which one?

    which one is correct?

    I can't help from noticing or but notice , and why?
    thank you
    TheParser likes this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  2. 25-Jan-2012, 20:33 #2
    emsr2d2
    emsr2d2 is online now VIP Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • UK
      • Current Location:
      • UK
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    9,030
    Teacher

    Default Re: which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by gio View Post
    Which one is correct?

    I can't help from noticing or but notice, and why?

    Thank you.
    Please see my amendments to your post above. Please remember that in written English, we start each sentence with a capital letter, and we do not put a space before a comma.

    Which one of the two choices do you think is correct?
    TheParser likes this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  3. 26-Jan-2012, 12:38 #3
    gio
    gio is offline Junior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • Greek
      • Home Country:
      • Greece
      • Current Location:
      • Greece
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    43
    Threadstarter / Original Poster
    Teacher

    Default Re: which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by emsr2d2 View Post
    Please see my amendments to your post above. Please remember that in written English, we start each sentence with a capital letter, and we do not put a space before a comma.


    Which of the two choices do you think is correct?
    Well, we do use gerund after from, so it sounds correct.However, because it's a negative sentence I think that but is also correct since it shows contradiction. I 'm confused...
    TheParser likes this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  4. 26-Jan-2012, 12:39 #4
    Barb_D's Avatar
    Barb_D
    Barb_D is offline Moderator
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Other
      • Native Language:
      • American English
      • Home Country:
      • United States
      • Current Location:
      • United States
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    11,630

    Default Re: which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by gio View Post
    Well, we do use gerund after from, so it sounds correct.However, because it's a negative sentence I think that but is also correct since it shows contradiction. I 'm confused...
    If you omit the word "from" either is okay.

    "I can't help from..." is not a standard construction in my dialect of English.
    TheParser likes this.
    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.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  5. 26-Jan-2012, 12:41 #5
    gio
    gio is offline Junior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • Greek
      • Home Country:
      • Greece
      • Current Location:
      • Greece
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Posts
    43
    Threadstarter / Original Poster
    Teacher

    Default Re: which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    If you omit the word "from" either is okay.

    "I can't help from..." is not a standard construction in my dialect of English.
    Thank you
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  6. 26-Jan-2012, 13:21 #6
    TheParser
    TheParser is offline Key Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Other
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • United States
      • Current Location:
      • United States
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Posts
    4,348

    Default Re: which one?

    Quote Originally Posted by gio View Post
    which one is correct?

    I can't help from noticing or but notice , and why?
    thank you

    ***** NOT A TEACHER *****


    (1) According to some experts, you could say:

    (a) I cannot help noticing how beautiful you are.

    (b) I cannot but notice how beautiful you are.

    *****

    (c) This one is becoming popular, but some experts do not like it: I cannot help but notice how beautiful you are.

    Source: Bryan A. Garner. A Dictionary of American Usage.
    gio and sumon. like this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
  7. 27-Jan-2012, 03:02 #7
    philo2009
    philo2009 is offline Senior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Academic
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • UK
      • Current Location:
      • Japan
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Posts
    1,227
    Teacher

    Default Re: which one?

    As the Parser has pointed out, two constructions exist: the most popular construction in conversation is can't help doing, while in more formal/literary parlance we still find cannot help but do, in which 'but' is a preposition (its original function in OE) governing the verb in the infinitive.
    TheParser likes this.
    Reply With Quote Reply With Quote
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Forum Rules


Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0