[Grammar] You look better, did you lose weight?

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Ferdie11

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Hi,

Could you please tell me whether the sentence below is correct or not?


You look better, did you lose weight?


Many thanks.
 

emsr2d2

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Hi,

Could you please tell me whether the sentence below is correct or not?


You look better, did you lose weight?


Many thanks.

Grammatically, there's nothing wrong with it but it might well be considered somewhat insulting!!! It suggests that the speaker thought the other person had been overweight, an opinion that might not be well received.

I would also like to point out that I wouldn't use "better", I would say "You look great" or something similar. If you say "better", you're clearly comparing it to some previous (unstated) time.

If I say to someone "You look better", it's normally because they've recently been ill (sick) and hadn't looked healthy the last time I saw them. If they've recovered by the time I next see them, then I would say "You look [much] better".
 

TheParser

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Hi,

Could you please tell me whether the sentence below is correct or not?


You look better, did you lose weight?


Many thanks.

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Ferdie.

(1) I think that very strict teachers would be a little upset with

your written sentence.

(2) You have connected a statement (You look better) with a

question (Did you lose [some] weight?) by using a comma.

(3) Some books call this a comma splice. In formal writing,

this is considered "wrong."

(4) So maybe it might be more correct to write:

Wow! You look great! [As Teacher EMSR suggested] Did you lose

some weight? [Using some means that in your mind, you are

thinking of a number -- 10, 15 pounds?]

(5) If you wanted one sentence, it might be very formal:

You must have lost some weight, for you look really great!!!
(The conjunction for connects your two sentences.)

THANK YOU
 

Ferdie11

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********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello, Ferdie.

(1) I think that very strict teachers would be a little upset with

your written sentence.

(2) You have connected a statement (You look better) with a

question (Did you lose [some] weight?) by using a comma.

(3) Some books call this a comma splice. In formal writing,

this is considered "wrong."

(4) So maybe it might be more correct to write:

Wow! You look great! [As Teacher EMSR suggested] Did you lose

some weight? [Using some means that in your mind, you are

thinking of a number -- 10, 15 pounds?]

(5) If you wanted one sentence, it might be very formal:

You must have lost some weight, for you look really great!!!
(The conjunction for connects your two sentences.)

THANK YOU



Do you think we could separate this sentence?


If you were stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with?"


Thanks.
 

Barb_D

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Do you think we could separate this sentence?


If you were stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with?"


Thanks.

This is not a comma splice, because the first part is a dependent clause (because it starts with "if.")

This WOULD be a comma splice:
Imagine you are stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with.
 

bhaisahab

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Do you think we could separate this sentence?


If you were stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with?"


Thanks.
If you mean make it two sentences, no you can't.
 

Nightmare85

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**Neither a teacher nor a native speaker.**

If you were stuck on an island, whom would you choose to be with?

Maybe it's oldfashioned, but I would use whom here.
I think adding a whom always eliminates confusion.
(Not only referred to that sentence.)

Cheers!
 

Ferdie11

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If you mean make it two sentences, no you can't.

So this sentence is grammatically correct although it starts with a dependent clause?


If you were stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with?"



Thanks.
 

Nightmare85

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So this sentence is grammatically correct although it starts with a dependent clause?


If you were stuck on an island, who would you choose to be with?"



Thanks.

Sure it is.
What's wrong to start a sentence with if?
Nothing :)
That's why you have to use a comma.

Cheers!
 
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