Results 1 to 4 of 4
Like Tree7Likes
  • 1 Post By Over the top
  • 2 Post By SoothingDave
  • 1 Post By TheParser
  • 2 Post By BobSmith

Thread: The beaches perfect

  1. #1
    Over the top's Avatar
    Over the top is offline Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Arabic
      • Home Country:
      • Saudi Arabia
      • Current Location:
      • Saudi Arabia
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    385

    Default The beaches perfect

    Sure, the weather was great and the beaches perfect.

    Why is it the beaches perfect not the beaches were perfect?
    Thank you
    TheParser likes this.

  2. #2
    SoothingDave is offline VIP Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Interested in Language
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • United States
      • Current Location:
      • United States
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Posts
    7,285

    Default Re: The beaches perfect

    The "were" is understood in this sentence. It would be repetitive, though not wrong, to repeat the past-tense "be" verb.
    TheParser and Over the top like this.

  3. #3
    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
    4,877

    Default Re: The beaches perfect

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


    As Soothing Dave told us, native speakers often leave out words -- sometimes for the rhythm of the sentence.

    My bad example: The soup was delicious and the steaks out-of-this-world. ( If I had written "were," it might have in

    some subtle way taken away the power of "out-of-this-world.")

    Another of my bad examples: Igor visited two countries. He said that the United States was wonderful and Brazil absolutely

    awesome!
    Over the top likes this.

  4. #4
    BobSmith is offline Senior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Interested in Language
      • Native Language:
      • English
      • Home Country:
      • United States
      • Current Location:
      • United States
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    902

    Default Re: The beaches perfect

    [AmE - not a teacher]

    I'm sure this has been covered before, but I think another similar usage would be:

    The beaches perfect, we decided to lie out in the sun all day.

    I think here, as well, the verb to be has been assumed:

    The beaches being perfect, we decided to lie out in the sun all day.
    Last edited by BobSmith; 13-Mar-2012 at 11:16. Reason: lay to lie. Thx to TheParser
    TheParser and Over the top like this.

Similar Threads

  1. Past Perfect And Present perfect - Difference
    By ihop in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 16-Jul-2010, 17:32
  2. grammar,past perfect and present perfect
    By pure in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 26-May-2010, 19:08
  3. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-Feb-2010, 08:14
  4. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 06-Sep-2007, 20:23
  5. Perfect and Perfect Continuous tenses... When to use?
    By pcgasparetto in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-Aug-2007, 03:18

Posting Permissions

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

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.1