[General] examining of one sentence only 2

Status
Not open for further replies.

vil

Key Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Bulgarian
Home Country
Bulgaria
Current Location
Bulgaria
Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to share with me your appreciated opinion concerning the following sentences?

Having found a letter addressed to one of its own, Dmitryuk broke it open and shamelessly read it.

or

Finding a letter addressed to one of its own, Dmitryuk broke it open and shamelessly read it.

shameless = feeling no remorse, shame

What about "Offering their condolences to a nation in mourning, Russian Prime Minister Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev vowed a thorough investigation into the plane crash."

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.
 
Last edited:

Jack8rkin

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
Give me a Russian version again. I have a couple of ideas on the account of the sentences...
 

vil

Key Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Bulgarian
Home Country
Bulgaria
Current Location
Bulgaria
Hi Jack8rkim,

Thank you for your ardent empathy with my abortive attempts to get things properly under control.
Here id the Russian version.

Найдя письмо, адресованное кому-либо из своих, Дмитрюк вскрывал его и без зазрения совести прочитывал (В. Попов. Сталь и шлак).

Regards,

V.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
wing sentences?

Having found a letter addressed to one of its own, Dmitryuk broke it open and shamelessly read it.

or

Finding a letter addressed to one of its own, Dmitryuk broke it open and shamelessly read it.

shameless = feeling no remorse, shame

Either "having found" or "finding" are correct, and "shamelessly" is correct.

However, what does "one of its own" refer to?
Usually, we would say someone opened a letter, not broke open a letter.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vil

vil

Key Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Bulgarian
Home Country
Bulgaria
Current Location
Bulgaria
Hi Barb_D,

Thank you for your prompt reply.

Thank you also for your corroboration of my wording.

Here is a brief explanation of my interpretation of the expression “one of its own”

one of its own = one of his own family = one of one’s own people

Regards,

V.
 

euncu

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
Either "having found" or "finding" are correct, and "shamelessly" is correct.

Hi, Barb

Since, to my knowledge, "having found" is the only correct option, would you explain why "finding" is correct as well?
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Okay - don't use "it" to refer to a human.
Finding the letter addressed to one of HIS own.

(But I wouldn't know if that meant people he managed, people he fathered, people he is on a team with, etc.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: vil

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Euncu,

Realizing he was late, he started running.
Learning the identity of his secret admirer, he rushed out to buy her flowers.
Finding the letter, he read it.

-- Do these all sound odd to you?
 

euncu

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
Euncu,

Realizing he was late, he started running.
Learning the identity of his secret admirer, he rushed out to buy her flowers.
Finding the letter, he read it.

-- Do these all sound odd to you?

Okay, I think I couldn't ask what I meant to ask properly. I didn't mean that you were wrong about it.(It'd be a silly thing to say to a native-speaker, especially to you). I just tried to say that what I knew (or I tought - as it turned out that I was wrong about it) was when we speak about past, the infinitive"to+V1" becomes "having+V3". So, by no means, I meant to say that what you knew about it was wrong. I just asked a little more details since I'd thought that "having+v3" was the only option.

I hope, I've been more succesful than before to make it a bit clearer this time.
 

Barb_D

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
(It'd be a silly thing to say to a native-speaker, especially to you).

Oh no, you're wrong there. I sure make mistakes, and I misread things, and sometimes my brain goes on vacation without me and I write things that are just utterly wrong. (I try not to let that happen TOO often, but...)

If you see something that looks wrong, you should point it out!

I wanted to know if the others sounded off to you or if there was something about the original sentence specifically that sounded odd.
 

euncu

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
Euncu,

Realizing he was late, he started running.
Learning the identity of his secret admirer, he rushed out to buy her flowers.
Finding the letter, he read it.

-- Do these all sound odd to you?

Oh no, you're wrong there. I sure make mistakes, and I misread things, and sometimes my brain goes on vacation without me and I write things that are just utterly wrong. (I try not to let that happen TOO often, but...)

If you see something that looks wrong, you should point it out!

I wanted to know if the others sounded off to you or if there was something about the original sentence specifically that sounded odd.

Thank you for your answer.

But the same issue about your previous question (the first quotation) still holds. The question "Do these all sound odd to you?" is best answered by a native-speaker rather than by a non-native one. It's way beyond the misreading, mistakes made by native-speaker due to being preoccupied, or etc. I'm talking about the sentences, you heard maybe thousand times, and heard by me maybe tens of times, more or less. But, anyway,when it comes to me to answer, I can say that I expected "Having+v3", not because of I hadn't heard the versions of the sentences you gave, but I believed that using "Having+v3" is correct.
 

IHIVG

Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
Having found a letter addressed to one of its own, Dmitryuk broke it open and shamelessly read it.

or

Finding a letter addressed to one of its own, Dmitryuk broke it open and shamelessly read it.

Given the Russian version you provided, I think the first sentence doesn't work here. Maybe the 2nd is better but still I wouldn't translate it like that. He didn't open the letter just once -- the sentence carries the meaning of repeated action.
My suggestion:

Everytime Dmitryuk found a letter addressed to one of his family members*, he opened it and shamelessly read it.

*I didn't read this novel but I'm pretty sure 'family members' is what is really meant here, unless you have a more explicit context.
Or you simply could say 'to one of his people'. I think the 'own' is not a very good choice here.
 
  • Like
Reactions: vil

Jack8rkin

Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
Hi, again!
I can suggest this as a translation:
When he found a letter addressed to one of his people (he was in charge of evacuees, mostly women and children), Dmitruk opened it and read it without a tint of shame.

*** NOT A TEACHER ***
 
  • Like
Reactions: vil
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top