Noun: feel V.S. feeling

[RonBee]

Thank you very much indeed, Cas. :D
Idiosyncrasy does make language more complex, huh.
One more question, can I replace all of those with "it" simply?



sabrina

You can say:

• It was no easy task.

And possibly:

• It kept us indoors.

(Say: "can I replace all those simply with "it"?)

:)

[RonBee]

Is it really possible to replace every that with this?

How about:

• I wouldn't do that!

Would a native speaker say "I wouldn't do this"?

[Casiopea]

Thank you very much indeed, Cas. :D
Idiosyncrasy does make language more complex, huh.
One more question, can I replace all of those with "it" simply?

sabrina

Replacing 'feel' or 'feeling' with "it" doesn't work:

1. There is certain it to the script.... :(
=> "a certain feel" consists of a determiner+adjective+noun; It means, a way of understanding, which makes it adverbial in function. The pronoun "it" replaces nouns that function as nominals.

2. ...there was a little it of being on shaky ground. :(


All the best,

[blacknomi]

My grammar book said, replace the previous phrase/clause/sentence with "this" or "that" in order to avoid repetition. Then the book provides with several examples without any notes.

I agree with you to use the concept of "distance in time" to distinguish between these demonstrative pronouns. I come up of a question now,

1(a)He promised to pay his debt. ______ he did on the following day.
1(b)He promised to pay his debt. He did ______on the following day.

This is my idea.
1(a)--> This ( it's close to the previous VP)
1(b)--> That ( it's a bit far way from the previous VP)
What do you say?

I am not sure what you mean by VP, but I would only use "this" in the first person, present tense. I would also have to be quite close to what I am referring to. For example, if I say "This is a good place to live" I am at that place. If I say "That is a good place to live" I am not at the place I am referring to.

I'm sorry to use VP.(there are tooo much initialism in your language. ) VP means verb phrase. In 1(a), the reason why I would use "this" is becauese "this" replaced the previous verb phrase "pay his debt" and they are relatively close to each other. While in example 1(b), I would use "that" because there is distance between the demonstrative pronoun and VP in terms of the linear hierarchy of sentence.
He promised to pay his debt. He did (here is distance) that on the following day.

I totally agree with what you've said. I'm just thinking what if I re-organize the sentence patterns into 1(a) and 1 (b), would the result be the same? Could I use "that" in both 1(a) and 1(b)?

Don't apologize. I'm learning. Hopefully, I will remember what VP means. :wink:

Unfortunately, I cannot agree with you about "pay his debt". That is a verb and its object, not a verb phrase. An example of a verb phrase might be "pay up" (meaning: pay what you owe); in that case the two words comprise the entire verb.

hehe, there is difference between "verb phrase" and "phrasel verb "
"Pay up" is a phrasal verb, while "pay his debt" is a verb phrase.
http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/verb-phrase.html
http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/phrasal-verb.html

When I used the word "proximity" I wasn't referring to the proximity of the words in the sentence. :)

Yes, I see it. Just my linguistic teacher teaches me the idea of the proximity of the words in the sentence.

Does that help?

you are very helpful. I do appreciate your help.

You are quite welcome.

I want to thank you one more.

sabrina

[blacknomi]

Thank you very much indeed, Cas. :D
Idiosyncrasy does make language more complex, huh.
One more question, can I replace all of those with "it" simply?



sabrina

You can say:

• It was no easy task.

And possibly:

• It kept us indoors.

(Say: "can I replace all those simply with "it"?)

:)

two more!!!

[blacknomi]

Thank you very much indeed, Cas. :D
Idiosyncrasy does make language more complex, huh.
One more question, can I replace all of those with "it" simply?

sabrina

Replacing 'feel' or 'feeling' with "it" doesn't work:

1. There is certain it to the script.... :(
=> "a certain feel" consists of a determiner+adjective+noun; It means, a way of understanding, which makes it adverbial in function. The pronoun "it" replaces nouns that function as nominals.

2. ...there was a little it of being on shaky ground. :(


All the best,

It's my bad.
I'm sorry to let you misunderstand my question.
Can i replace the answers of the following examples simply with "it"?
1.He promised to pay his debt. ______ he did on the folling day.
2.I tried to learn the poem by heart, but _____ was no easy task.
3.I will pay you tomorrow. _____ will satisfy you.
4.It was raining hard, and _____ kept us indoors.
5.He has good intentions, but _____ is not enough.

[blacknomi]

Is it really possible to replace every that with this?

How about:

• I wouldn't do that!

Would a native speaker say "I wouldn't do this"?

Wouldn't they?

Mary: Honey, John lied to his wife. Listen, don't you ever do THIS to me!
Honey: Yes, queen.


oh I forget to wish you a wonderful weekend.

[Tdol]

1.He promised to pay his debt. ______ he did on the folling day. No
2.I tried to learn the poem by heart, but _____ was no easy task. Yes
3.I will pay you tomorrow. _____ will satisfy you. Tricky one- it would work better for me with a different modal.
4.It was raining hard, and _____ kept us indoors. Why not
5.He has good intentions, but _____ is not enough. Not really- it doesn't go with the plural

[Casiopea]

1. He promised to pay his debt. It he did on the following day.
==> Only if we move the the pronoun to the object position, like this,

He did it on the following day.

The reason "It he did" doesn't work because "It", being a nominal, functions as subject or object, never as modification:

He promised to pay his dept, which he did on the following day.
He promised to pay his dept. That he did on the following day.
He promised to pay his dept. He did it on the following day.

Both 'which' and 'that' modify 'pay his dept'. The pronoun "it" cannot modify 'pay his dept'. It can only refer to it.

2. I tried to learn the poem by heart, but it was no easy task. ==> "It" works well because it's in the subject position. It refers to th noun phrase 'trying to learn the peom: ...but trying to learn the poem was no easy task.

3. I will pay you tomorrow. It will satisfy you.
==> "It" is in the subject position, but it doesn't work well in this context. We need a demonstrative pronoun to express "that thing (paying you), this way (will, tomorrow, in the future)".

4. It was raining hard, and it kept us indoors.
==> "it" works well in this context. It refers to "rain". The rain kept us in doors.

5. He has good intentions, but it is not enough.
==> "it" works well. It refer to the noun phrase 'having good intentions'. ...but having good intentions is not enough.

All the best,

[blacknomi]

1.He promised to pay his debt. ______ he did on the folling day. No
2.I tried to learn the poem by heart, but _____ was no easy task. Yes
3.I will pay you tomorrow. _____ will satisfy you. Tricky one- it would work better for me with a different modal.
4.It was raining hard, and _____ kept us indoors. Why not
5.He has good intentions, but _____ is not enough. Not really- it doesn't go with the plural

thanks for filling in the blank.