Hi there guys

[belly_ttt]

Hi there, another 5 questions to ask:

1) If direct and directly are both adverb, what are the differences between them?
Ex: We flew direct to Vietnam
We flew directly to Vietnam
2) My teacher said that this sentence is wrong:" While Mrs Brown watered the tree, her dog played around" and replace it by" While Mrs Brown was watering the tree, her dog was playing around" because the past continuous set a background for a story while past simple cannot. IS it true?

3) Joanne ____ in French where she________ a job as a secrectary. At the moment, she is studying in Oxford
I filled those: came/ had
My teacher told me I was wrong and corrected: comes/ has
and say: "You cannot put the two tense in one sentence according to the parallel structure"
But I think again:" How about this sentence: she comes from Japan where she used to be a teacher?"
Who do you think was right?

4) There are 2 cars parked outside. ____ yellow and _____ red one.
My teacher filled in the blank : the/ the on the ground that the two car were determined already.
But I think hers are so awkward. I think there should be a/ a because we just name them out. However, my teacher stuck to her gun.
Who do you think is right?

5) and can we say:John runs a business at the moment instead of John is running a business at the moment?

[David L.]

Ex: We flew direct to Vietnam
We flew directly to Vietnam

The first sentence is short for:
"We flew the direct route to Vietnam" where it is an adjective, and so in the shortened sentence, seems to be an adverb.

2) My teacher said that this sentence is wrong:" While Mrs Brown watered the tree, her dog played around" and replace it by" While Mrs Brown was watering the tree, her dog was playing around" because the past continuous set a background for a story while past simple cannot. IS it true?
If you are correct, then what would be your next sentence following on from that?

3) Joanne ____ in French where she________ a job as a secrectary. At the moment, she is studying in Oxford
I filled those: came/ had
My teacher told me I was wrong and corrected: comes/ has
and say: "You cannot put the two tense in one sentence according to the parallel structure"
But I think again:" How about this sentence: she comes from Japan where she used to be a teacher?"
Who do you think was right?

The sentences could be:
Joanne comes from France where she had a job as a secrectary. At the moment, she is studying in Oxford.
Joanne comes from France where she has a job as a secrectary. At the moment, she is studying in Oxford.
'comes from' has the meaning, 'was born in', and not to 'travelling' from France.
use 'has' if she is still employed in her job and just over at Oxford doing a course, possibly at the request of her company.
use 'had' if she resigned her job to take the course at Oxford.

4) There are 2 cars parked outside. ____ yellow and _____ red one.
My teacher filled in the blank : the/ the on the ground that the two car were determined already.
But I think hers are so awkward. I think there should be a/ a because we just name them out. However, my teacher stuck to her gun.
Who do you think is right?
If the only reference to the cars is the first sentence you give, then 'a' should be used both times, so, you are.

5) and can we say:'John runs a business at the moment' instead of 'John is running a business at the moment'?
Yes - depending on the meaning you wish to convey:
John runs a business at the moment, though he is thinking of going back to University.
John is running a business at the moment, so I doubt if he would have time in the foreseeable future to work on your project.

[belly_ttt]

Hi David L
Thanks for your answer but I need to ask you sth else:
2) This actually taken from out of nowhere. We were not writing an essay , just a solitary sentence
5) I don't get very much of those situation, can you explain to me more?
Or do you mean that the first sentence is to emphasize on the second clause while the second sentence is not

4) Could you explain to me more about this because I think it refer to the defined cars in the 1st clause?

[David L.]

2. Then there is no continuing story if your teacher did not stipulate this. It is an observation, made at some time in the past; so on those grounds, there is no need to change the tense.
Your teacher is suggesting that the continuous form of the tense sets the background to start a story, but a story could be written in either form. The continuous form does suggest to the reader, though, that because of the continuous form of the tense, more details or action about the dog is about to happen. eg '...was playing around. It ran round and round a tree and then suddenly ran right under the spray of the hose. How that dog dripped! Bad dog, Fido." See (5) for more on continuous tense.

5. Look at the difference between " I go to school" and "I am going to school"
'I go to school' means that I attend school (I don't have a job). It is what I do each day.
"I am going to school" is the present continuous of this, and is used when the writer is talking about something that is unfinished or incomplete. If is as if a neighbour spoke to me as I walked along, and asked me what I was doing. I am in the process of going to school, but I am not there yet. What I am doing is not finished until I actually arrive at school.
'I am going to school and still have six blocks to walk."

4. There has been a reference to 'cars' but not to any colour car.
"There are two cars parked outside. One is a yellow car, the other is a red car. The yellow car is a Ford."
compare
"There are two cars parked outside. The cars have been there all night. One is a yellow car."
compare
"There is a car parked outside. It is a yellow car."