scarcely,had, when, about

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions:

No.1
The noise was terrible and I could hardly hear a thing.
My question is: Can I use "scarecely" in this sentence?

No.2
You'd rather I didn't tell her aobut it,________?
a. wouldn't you b. had you
The key is "a". No problem. Here "You'd" is "You would"If "a" is "hadn't you" then it is also correct because it is "You had". Is that right?

No.3
Plants grow __________ there is air and sunshine; earth and water are so close to each other.
a. when b. if c. where
The key is "c". No problem. But I think "a" and "b" are also correct. Could you please explain why they are not the choices?

No.4
The following is part of a cloze. To provide you with the context I am typing the relavant part:
Movie makers admit that their rising popularity is partly the result of poor economic conditions, which traditionally bring an increase in film-goers."When people are fearful about the futre, they look for escape, "comments the president of the association. In a cinema, with a 65-foot screen, you lose_________ for two and a half hours.
I have two questions:
1.I know the collocation of "fearful" is "of". Is there a collocation "fearful about"? If there is "of" is much better than "about". Is that right?
2. The choices for the blank are:
a. worry b. temper c.heart d. confidence
The key is "b'. But I don't understand the meaning of the sentence. Could you please kindly explain that?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[Soup]

No.1
It could work, I guess; it's just that verbs of perception don't seem to collate with scarcely all that frequently.


No.2
Ex: You had rather I didn't tell her about it, hadn't you?

=> The two hads express different meanings.

No.3
Ex: Plants grow when there is air and sunshine.

=> It's colloquial, but awkward for Standard English; i.e., (at a time) when ...

Ex: Plants grow if there is air and sunshine.

=> This could work if, that is, you want a conditional reading;i.e., only if there is air and sunshine.

No.4
Ex: When people are fearful about the future, they look for escape," comments the president of the association.

=> to be fearful of something means that you feel that that something can harm you.
=> to be fearful about the future is a collocation. (The future can't harm you.)

Ex: In a cinema, with a 65-foot screen, you lose temper for two and a half hours.

=> the key "temper" has me stumped also. I haven't heard it before.

[jiang]

Dear Soup,

Thank you very much for your explanation.
I have problem with No.4:
No.4
=> to be fearful about the future is a collocation. (The future can't harm you.)
Could you please explain what this means, especially "The future can't harm you"?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

No.1
It could work, I guess; it's just that verbs of perception don't seem to collate with scarcely all that frequently.


No.2
Ex: You had rather I didn't tell her about it, hadn't you?

=> The two hads express different meanings.

No.3
Ex: Plants grow when there is air and sunshine.

=> It's colloquial, but awkward for Standard English; i.e., (at a time) when ...

Ex: Plants grow if there is air and sunshine.

=> This could work if, that is, you want a conditional reading;i.e., only if there is air and sunshine.

No.4
Ex: When people are fearful about the future, they look for escape," comments the president of the association.

=> to be fearful of something means that you feel that that something can harm you.
=> to be fearful about the future is a collocation. (The future can't harm you.)

Ex: In a cinema, with a 65-foot screen, you lose temper for two and a half hours.

=> the key "temper" has me stumped also. I haven't heard it before.

[Raymott]

1.I know the collocation of "fearful" is "of". Is there a collocation "fearful about"? If there is "of" is much better than "about". Is that right?

That's not exactly a collocation. A preposition has to be right for whatever comes before and after.

Generally people are afraid of something. So, "fearful of" is probably the most common combination.
But you can be afraid for your children's safety. "fearful for".
It's a bit unusual, but you could be fearful about the current economic crisis, although "fearful over" would be better used here.

[BobK]

No.2
You'd rather I didn't tell her aobut it,________?
a. wouldn't you b. had you
The key is "a". No problem. Here "You'd" is "You would"If "a" is "hadn't you" then it is also correct because it is "You had". Is that right?

Soup's correction was right, but your reasoning is good, Jiang. Two or three hundred years ago, English writers did use 'I had rather'; Jane Austen did, I seem to remember. In on of her reported conversations, you might well see 'hadn't you'?

b