Idioms: A friend in need is a friend indeed & ...

[bmo]

Two idiom examples (1 & 3) in my article to a Taiwanese newspaper were changed to (2 & 4). Are the changes correct?

1. Tony Blair is a true friend of the United States whose help we can all count on in a time of need. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

2. Tony Blair is a true friend of the United States that his help we can all count on in a time of need. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

3. Failing to pass a California state budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, added fuel to the fire for the recall process that Governor Gray Davis is facing.

4. Fail to pass a California state budget for the fiscal year 2004 beginning from July 1, added fuel to the fire for the recall process that Governor Gray Davis is facing.

Thank you very much.

BMO

[Red5]

BMO, I think your answers (1 & 3) are actually correct; they certainly sound more natural than the "corrected" versions (2 & 4).

[bmo]

Thanks Red5, are you saying:

1. "Whose help" is better than "that his help," but grammatically the later is also correct.

2. "Fail to pass" is wrong. It is supposed to be a gerund (?), "failing to pass" is the subject of verb added. Am I right?

3. "Fiscal year 2004 beginning from July 1" is grammatically correct, but the word "from" is actually not needed, in fact, it makes it unnatural.

Thanks again.

BMO

[Red5]

I am suggesting that your versions are correct, and the bold edited versions are incorrect; they don't make sense to me.

I'm afraid we'll have to wait for a real English teacher to log on before you get a clear grammatical answer to this (I am not a teacher), but I'd be suprised if they disagree.

[Tdol]

Your versions are correct, though I'd put a comma before 'whose' as it is non-restrivtive (non-defining) as there is only one Tony Blair. You're right about the gerund, because it needs to be that to be the subject. 'That' doesn't make sense unless you rewrite the sentence.

[bmo]

Thanks to Red5 and Tdol. It sure looks better with a comma after Tony Blair.

BMO

[Tdol]

I dread to think what would happen if there were more than one.

[bmo]

Originally Posted by tdol

I dread to think what would happen if there were more than one.

My mistake; the comma is before whose. Thanks again. BMO

[Tdol]

You're welcome.