by return

[Polyester]

Please check my sentence and correct any errors.

If the goods was broken, please by return it.

 

[GoesStation]

Does goods look like a singular word or a plural one?

 

[Polyester]

Does goods look like a singular word or a plural one?

Good question!

I just check an online dictionaries, it's plural one.

 

[GoesStation]

Good question!

I just check an online dictionaries, it's plural one.

Right. What's the third-person plural present simple form of be?

For future reference, you don't really need a dictionary to answer that question. English nouns that end in S are nearly always plural.

 

[Polyester]

Right. What's the third-person plural present simple form of be?

For future reference, you don't really need a dictionary to answer that question. English nouns that end in S are nearly always plural.

If the goods were broken, please by return it.

Is it correct now?

 

[Tarheel]

Good question!

I just checked some online dictionaries, it's a plural.

See above.

 

[Tarheel]

If the goods were broken, please by return it.

Is it correct now?

No. Delete by and it and you're on the right track.

 

[GoesStation]

No. Delete by and it and you're on the right track.

That means "getting close to the right answer", Polyester. The second sentence will need an object.

 

[Tarheel]

Ted, it's Polyester that's supposed to come up with the right answer.

 

[Polyester]

Ted, it's Polyester that's supposed to come up with the right answer.

If the goods were broken, please return it.

Is it correct now?

 

[teechar]

If the goods [SUP](1)[/SUP]were broken, please return [SUP](2)[/SUP]it.

1- Is there a reason for not using the present simple (instead of the past simple)?
2- Is "it" the correct pronoun for "goods"?

 

[Polyester]

1- Is there a reason for not using the present simple (instead of the past simple)?
2- Is "it" the correct pronoun for "goods"?

1. The goods can't break by itself. I used past passive because someone broke the goods.
2. I will write the word "them" instead of "it". You are correct. The goods are plural.

 

[teechar]

No, Polyester, I wasn't talking about passive/active. I was talking about tense (past/present). In other words, why didn't you use "are" instead of "were"?
Yes, you're right about "them". Well done!

 

[GoesStation]

The past simple is the right tense if the goods arrived damaged.

 

[Tarheel]

1. The goods can't break by themselves. I used past passive because someone broke the goods.
2. I will write the word "them" instead of "it". You are correct. The goods are plural.

I would simply say:

Return ________ __________ ________.

(Four words.)

 

[Polyester]

No, Polyester, I wasn't talking about passive/active. I was talking about tense (past/present). In other words, why didn't you use "are" instead of "were"?
Yes, you're right about "them". Well done!

I used past tense because the goods were damaged once I received. But, what's wrong in past tense? If I use present tense, I think it doesn't make sense. Can you please tell me what's wrong?

 

[Polyester]

I would simply say:

Return ________ __________ ________.

(Four words.)

Return it by themselves. ?

 

[Disckstuckinfan]

Return any broken goods.

 

[tedmc]

Return any broken goods.

Polyester,
This an imperative, a sentence without a subject - to tell somebody to do something

 

[Tarheel]

I used past tense because the goods were damaged when I received them. What's wrong with past tense? If I use present tense, I think it doesn't make sense. Can you please tell me what's wrong?