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Thread: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

  1. 27-Jan-2012, 01:11 #1
    ngoc_lan
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    Default I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    I'm not sure if this sentence is correct. Please help me!

    I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    I'd use "did" because of the phrase "Charles worked". Is it correct?
    Thanks for your help!
  2. 27-Jan-2012, 02:20 #2
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    Raymott
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    Quote Originally Posted by ngoc_lan View Post
    I'm not sure if this sentence is correct. Please help me!

    I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    I'd use "did" because of the phrase "Charles worked". Is it correct?
    Thanks for your help!
    I'd use "does". Mary does work that hard, and you wish Charles did also.
  3. 27-Jan-2012, 03:53 #3
    philo2009
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    It depends entirely on the meaning: 'does' if you are comparing Charles work-rate with Mary's current work-rate, 'did' if you are comparing it with her past work-rate.
    shannico likes this.
  4. 27-Jan-2012, 09:05 #4
    ngoc_lan
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    Quote Originally Posted by philo2009 View Post
    It depends entirely on the meaning: 'does' if you are comparing Charles work-rate with Mary's current work-rate, 'did' if you are comparing it with her past work-rate.
    So if there is no context, is "does" the best choice?
  5. 27-Jan-2012, 11:36 #5
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    Raymott
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    Quote Originally Posted by ngoc_lan View Post
    So if there is no context, is "does" the best choice?
    No, I gave you a context to show that 'did' in one clause does not necessitate 'did' in the other. If there is no context, there's no call for a sentence at all.
    5jj, bhaisahab and emsr2d2 like this.
  6. 27-Jan-2012, 14:01 #6
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    Quote Originally Posted by Raymott View Post
    If there is no context, there's no call for a sentence at all.
    bhaisahab 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.
  7. 28-Jan-2012, 02:06 #7
    ngoc_lan
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    Thank you very much!
  8. 28-Jan-2012, 05:04 #8
    philo2009
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    Default Re: I wish Charles worked as hard as Mary ....

    Quote Originally Posted by ngoc_lan View Post
    So if there is no context, is "does" the best choice?
    Most probably the 'expected' answer (although, as pointed out, not the only grammatically possible one.)
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