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#1
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#2
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| he's happy to became a- happy to have become hasn't completely sunken in me yet- hasn't completely sunk in yet There is the formal word 'offspring' (no chnage for the plural), but you wouldn't use it in a situation like this. You might see it on a form. |
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#3
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| Thank you very much Tdol. have become - is this because he became a granddad and will stay that way? I meant to use 'to become' (became is a typo). Would it sound weird? what would be the difference between 'to have become' and just 'to become'? Offspring? wouldn't it almost sound offensive in this situation? and when I wrote "I asked how he's doing...", doesn't it sound like he's had some hard time, like someone close died or something? I meant I said the usual greetings to him. "how are you today?" |
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#4
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| I suggested 'have become' because of the typo. 'become' would also work. 'Offspring' would not work in a casual question. It wouldn't be offensive, but it would be weird. I asked how he's doing = generally enquiry. |
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#5
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| But there must be a reason you chose "to have become" as the first answer you came up with as opposed to "to become". They are different in tone, aren't they? Would you like to explain the difference? Thanks again! |
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#6
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| Where it is clear that the past is intended, we don't always use the 'have become' form: He denied doing it. He denied having done it. Here, it is clear in both that the action came before the denial, so we would often use the first form. I would like to do it. I would like to have done it. Here, the same is not true, so we wouldn't have the choice. Where we have the choice, especially informally, we tend to use the simpler form. |
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