Was I wrong?

Status
Not open for further replies.

bagzi94

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Serbian
Home Country
Serbia
Current Location
Serbia
1. The person who bought love never born.

My friend told me that I had been mistaken,
and she told me that is: "Love can not be bought."

I know it sound better, but is it 1. sentence gramaticly correct?
 

SoothingDave

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
The sentence is unclear. Is love never born? Is the person like he was never born? You are missing a few words, at the least.
 

Richard1

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Hi,

Certainly 'The person who bought love never born', makes no sense and is therefore incorrect.

And since it's not clear precisely what you're trying to convey it's not possible to say whether 'Love can not be bought', whilst grammatically correct, is the right phrase.

Regards
 

bagzi94

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Serbian
Home Country
Serbia
Current Location
Serbia
I translated it literally, that's the reason.

And do you understand if I say:

" The person who bought love is not born yet"
 

Richard1

Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Hi,

I understand it. Whether it means the same to me as it does to you is a moot point until I know what you think it means.

And arguably since many people over the centuries have 'bought love' it's not factually correct.

Regards
 

bagzi94

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Serbian
Home Country
Serbia
Current Location
Serbia
Thanks for the explanation!
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
I translated it literally, that's the reason.

And do you understand if I say:

" The person who bought love is not born yet"
"The person who bought love is not yet born" is correct, it means that it is impossible to buy love.
 

euncu

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
" The person who bought love is not born yet"

Hi,

I understand it. Whether it means the same to me as it does to you is a moot point until I know what you think it means.

What is meant to say is clear but I suspect that the sentence may not be correct. Richard1 understood it but didn't say that it was also correct. So I have to ask the followings;

"The person who bought love" part of the sentence suggests that it happened in the past but "is" denotes the present, so if the sentence hasn't been designed as a paradoxical one it should not be correct. So shouldn't the sentence be like this;

1. A person who can buy love is not born.
2. A person who can buy love has not been born yet. Or,
3. The person who bought love was not born.

And what can you(the native speakers and/or the teachers) say about my use of the articles in the sentences above?

Thanks for your answers in advance.
 

bagzi94

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Serbian
Home Country
Serbia
Current Location
Serbia
Thank you very much!
 

euncu

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
I haven't got any answers yet. I'd appreciate it if you will reply.
 

Vidor

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
not a teacher

I haven't got any answers yet. I'd appreciate it if you will reply.

"The person who can buy love has never been born."
 

euncu

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Member Type
Other
Native Language
Turkish
Home Country
Turkey
Current Location
Turkey
Vidor and apex2000, thank you both. I also wanted to know if my using of the articles was correct?

Thanks again for your replies in advance.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top