belly laugh

[Naeem Afzal]

Hi teachers,


When I tickle the baby's foot, he broke out in a big belly laugh. Correct?


Many thanks.

 

[Barb_D]

Sounds good to me!
EDIT: my morning-eyes failed to see the error. It should, as later posts point out, be "tickled" (past). I apologize for my misleading response!

 

[Odessa Dawn]

When I tickle the baby's foot, he broke out in a big belly laugh. Correct?

Would it be correct if I use they, please?

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[5jj]

Would it be correct if I use they, please?

​

We normally know the sex of a baby whose foot we are tickling, so 'they' would be unlikely.

@ Naeem Afz; Your first verb should be 'tickled'.

 

[telemehdi]

Would it be correct if I use they, please?

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I dont think so. He is talking about the baby not babies and I dont think all babies behave like that.

 

[telemehdi]

We normally know the sex of a baby whose foot we are tickling, so 'they' would be unlikely.

@ Naeem Afz; Your first verb should be 'tickled'.

If we don't know the sex of a baby whose foot we are tickling, We must use they? I think when he is talking about the baby, he is talking about one specific baby.

 

[5jj]

I dont think so. He is talking about the baby not babies and I dont think all babies behave like that.

If the sex of the baby were unknown, 'they' would be possible as an alternative to 'he or she'. If the mother were not around, I'd use 'it'.

 

[Rover_KE]

I don't think so. He is talking about 'the baby' not 'babies' and I don't think all babies behave like that.

telemehdi, please read this extract from the forum's Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi teachers,


When I tickled the baby's foot, he broke out in a big belly laugh. Correct?


Many thanks.

Bhai.

 

[telemehdi]

telemehdi, please read this extract from the forum's Posting Guidelines:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post.

Can I state that in my signature so I don't have to write it each time?

 

[5jj]

Yes

 

[Rover_KE]

Can I state that in my signature so I don't have to write it each time?

No. You have to write it each time.

Students are not expected to have to look at the Member Info of every respondent.

 

[5jj]

No. You have to write it each time.

Students are not expected to have to look at the Member Info of every respondent.

If telemehdi writes it is their signature, it should appear in every post.

 

[Tdol]

If we don't know the sex of a baby whose foot we are tickling, We must use they? I think when he is talking about the baby, he is talking about one specific baby.

It's common to use they for a single person when we don't know the gender. However, if we're tickling a baby's foot, it is unlikely that we don't know whether it's male or female. Also, with babies, it can be used when we don't know.