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05-Mar-2007, 11:19
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| |  sentence by Agatha Christie
Dear teachers,
I found this sentence by Agatha Christie which was unfortunately incomplete. Sould the verb be WAS or IS? And should we add a comma after "married"?
"Alix has just found some newspaper cuttings in a drawer, proving that Gerald, the man she recently married s actually Charles Le Maitre, a woman-killer wanted by the police."
= "recently married, was / is actually Charles..." ?
Should we have WAS with HAD just FOUND, and IS with HAS just FOUND?
Would it be possible to find the original text on the net?
Best wishes,
Hela
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05-Mar-2007, 12:25
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
It's from Philomel Cottage, right? |
05-Mar-2007, 13:10
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
"Alix has just found some newspaper cuttings in a drawer, proving that Gerald, the man she recently married is actually Charles Le Maitre, a woman-killer wanted by the police."
Is seems more logical here - we assume that Gerald is still alive and that he is still Charles Le Maitre.
Was could be used in indirect speech, for example:
Alix found some newspaper cuttings in a drawer. The cuttings said that Gerald was actually Charles Le Maitre, a woman-killer wanted by the police.
When we use indirect speech, we normally "shift back" a tense, so "is" becomes "was". The meaning is still present, we are just reporting what someone else said.
Keith |
05-Mar-2007, 16:06
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
That's right, Casiopea. Do you know if I can browse the book on the net?
Thanks Keith  |
07-Mar-2007, 08:14
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
Quote:
Originally Posted by hela  That's right, Casiopea. Do you know if I can browse the book on the net? | I haven't been able to find a free ebook. Sorry.  |
07-Mar-2007, 11:24
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casiopea I haven't been able to find a free ebook. Sorry. | You won't - Agatha Christie's books will remain in copyright until the year 2091. |
07-Mar-2007, 15:13
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
I'll be dead then  |
08-Mar-2007, 09:08
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
Quote:
Originally Posted by hela I'll be dead then | hela, you're not dead.  The verb is present tense "is"; it states a fact. Moreover, the man she recently married is still alive, right?
"Alix has just found some newspaper cuttings in a drawer, proving that Gerald, the man she recently married is actually Charles Le Maitre, a woman-killer wanted by the police." |
08-Mar-2007, 11:01
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
I think you've misunderstood hela, Casi. 'I'll be dead then' can be interpreted (correctly, hela  ) in two ways:
By that time I will be dead. [It might have been clearer if it had had a 'by' before the 'then', but it's not wrong without]
or
In that case, I must be dead. [This is an unusual interpretation, but it's possible.]
b |
08-Mar-2007, 11:05
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| | Re: sentence by Agatha Christie
Quote:
Originally Posted by BobK I think you've misunderstood hela, Casi. | The other way around, Bob. Some time has passed since hela's last post and my response. She might have thought she was dead (figuratively speaking). Thus my response: you're not dead (no worries).
I think I'm going to take a break from UsingEnglish for a while.  | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode | 
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