Both versions sound correct to me.Both versions sound correct to me.
I prefer the first.
Rover
Both versions sound correct to me.
I prefer the second. ;-)
Would the second one be grammatically acceptable on the tast?
You can see a similar sentence here:
It was in 1959 <that, when> her grandparents moved ... - WordReference Forums
Just a big THANK YOU for always giving us leaners such great
links.
The one you gave us in this thread was awesome (as you young
people say).
Thanks again,
James
I much prefer the first. I don't like the second at all.Both versions sound correct to me.
I prefer the first.
Rover
Both versions sound correct to me.
I prefer the first.
Rover
I much prefer the first. I don't like the second at all.
My advice would be to use "that" in the "Titanic" sentence.lI'll put my question this way. Would you consider test queations where you have to choose between "when" and "that" accurate without any context and not knowing which part of the sentence the speaker wants to emphasize? Because our teacher says "that is correct and when is incorrect".
Here's the example I pulled from the BBC web-site.
"It was last Saturday when my brother bought his new car from our neighbour."
Would there be a difference if it were "It was on Aug. 5 when my brother bought his new car from our neighbour."? Should it be "......that my brother bought ........."?
NOT A TEACHER
DEAR MEMBER OSTAP:
(1) I went to the BBC website and saw that sentence and also this
one: 7 May 1945 was the day (when) the Second World War ended
in Europe.
(a) The BBC is a wonderful news organization and I can only dream of
being able to speak and write as well as those BBC newsreaders.
(b) But you have to satisfy your teachers who, understandably, have
to teach the "rules."
(c) I strongly recommend that you google "BBC cleft sentences." Then
click on the 7th result ("Cleft sentences - TOPIC"). You will find that
some sentences that start with "it" are not actually cleft sentences.
Thus, a "when" or "where" may be justified.
(d) Nevertheless, using that on your examinations -- as the great
teachers at this helpline have suggested -- is your safest route.
(2) I have collected these examples from my books:
(a) It is on Sundays that Bob always plays golf. (The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar)
(b) It was yesterday that my secretary sent the bill to Mr. Harding.
(Practical English Usage)
(c) It was last night that Freda phoned. (Longman English Grammar)
(d) It's in the kitchen that I study. (The Grammar Book)
(e) It was on Monday that the players objected to the delay. (The Oxford Companion to the English Language)
(f) It was in London that I met her. ( English Review Grammar)
(g) It was in a Norfolk village that I first ran across him. (A Dictionary of Modern English. The author -- the legendary Mr. H. W. Fowler!!! -- says that "where" would not be idiomatic.)
(h) It was there/ in Italy/ in my early youth/ then/ in this way that I first made his acquaintance. (Essentials of English Grammar -- written by
the legendary Professor Otto Jespersen)
(i) It was in September that I first noticed it. *** It was at 9.15 [9:15] this morning that the government proclaimed a state of emergency.
(A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, the famous grammar written by Professor Quirk and his distinguished colleagues)
(j) It was night before last that it happened. (A Grammar of Present-Day English)
Respectfully yours,
James
Here's the link.
Learning English | BBC World Service
It shows how to choose bwetween "that,who and when". So is it when or that?
Being an American,what would be your answer from the American point of view?
NOT A TEACHER
(1) I am delighted that you are still interested in this topic. It is
evident that you want to understand it in depth.
(2) If I tried to give the American point of view, my fellow Americans
would boo me off the stage!!!
(3) That BBC article is nice, but -- quite frankly and with the
greatest respect -- some of those sentences are not really
cleft sentences.
(4) I again most respectfully and humbly ask that you google
"BBC cleft sentences" and then click on the 7th result entitled
"Cleft sentences -- TOPIC"
(a) It will explain to you the diffference between genuine
cleft sentences (which require "that") and non-cleft sentences
that may use "when" or "where."
(b) Let me give you just a taste of what you will learn (as did I) in
that thread (The following are my examples, based on what I THINK
that I learned in that link):
REAL CLEFT (when you want to emphasize something)
Tom: I think that she bought the dress in Berlin.
Sue: No way! I happen to know that it was in Paris (not in Berlin) that
she bought the dress.
NOT A CLEFT SENTENCE (just a calm answer)
Mona: Do you know where Tony bought his hat?
George: Yes, I do. He bought his hat in Paris./ Oh, I believe that
it was Paris where he bought his hat. = Paris was [the place]
where he bought his hat. (Notice that there is no preposition "in.")
Respectfully yours,
James
"(2) If I tried to give the American point of view, my fellow Americans
would boo me off the stage!!!"
Woudl they use "only that in cleft sentences"?
"BBC cleft sentences" Can you type the direct links?