Could you correct this conditional sentence?

[smee1]

Dear teacher,

Would you correct this sentence? It is part of a work I have to do for my oral exam and I don't know why it sounds odd.

"She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would've liked them to be slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could have done."

Thank you.
Regards
Jorge

 

[RonBee]

They don't seem particlularly odd to me. I think you can improve some on the second sentence tho. Try:

• She would've liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could manage.

What do you think?

 

[smee1]

RonBee,
Yes, I like your suggestion.
If I used "could have managed" instead of "could manage" . Would it change the meaning? Would it be wrong?
I think that if science had been able to do that before It certainly can do it now so "could manage" would be more appropiate.
Please reply if you don't mind.
Thank you.
Jorge

 

[RonBee]

RonBee,
Yes, I like your suggestion.
If I used "could have managed" instead of "could manage" . Would it change the meaning? Would it be wrong?
I think that if science had been able to do that before It certainly can do it now so "could manage" would be more appropiate.
Please reply if you don't mind.
Thank you.
Jorge

Yes, I think so. But I am not sure how it would change the meaning. I would not use "could have managed" there at all.

Re:

• She would've liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could manage.

That could be seen as an elliptical sentence. Thus, the entire sentence would be:

• She would've liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could manage to make them.

As I said, I am not even sure what the sentence would mean with "could have managed" there. Maybe I will be able to give you a better explanation after I have had my coffee.

:wink:

 

[Casiopea]

"She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would've liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could have done."

She would like them to be (infinitives)
She would have liked them to have been (present perfect)

 

[RonBee]

"She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would've liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could have done."

She would like them to be (infinitives)
She would have liked them to have been (present perfect)

How about:

• She would have liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could make them.

 

[Tdol]

She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would have liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could make them.

How about:
She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would have liked them slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could make them.
?? ;-)

 

[RonBee]

She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would have liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could make them.

How about:
She said she would've genetically engineered her daughters if she had been able to do so. She would have liked them slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could make them.
?? ;-)

I don't know. I think I would keep have been there.

 

[Tdol]

Just trying to cut out words. ;-)

 

[smee1]

Thank you teachers. you are enlightening me and I'm glad for your concern.

It is going to be an oral exam next thursday and I think that if I tell the examinator "She would have liked them to have been taller, slimmer and as intelligent as science could manage" it is going to be good.

You know, I have to use the structures and vocabulary we have been learning this term and it occurred to me making a long paragraph which includes some of those. I wish I could pronounce it correctly too.

Thank you again.
Jorge.

 

[Tdol]

It is going to be an oral exam next thursday and I think that if I tell the examinator "She would have liked them to have been taller, slimmer and as intelligent as science could manage" it is going to be good.
Thank you again.
Jorge.

Firstly, they're called examiners. For an oral, use shortened forms to make it sound more natural:

She'd've liked thum tuh-uv bin taller, slimmer and us intelligunt us science could manage.

The small words should be stressed less. I have used the letter 'u' to indicate the schwa sound, the unstressed vowel sound. ;-)

 

[RonBee]

It is going to be an oral exam next thursday and I think that if I tell the examinator "She would have liked them to have been taller, slimmer and as intelligent as science could manage" it is going to be good.

That is good, but I think the one I came up with later is even better, thus:

• She would have liked them to have been slimmer, taller and as intelligent as science could make them.

What do you think?

(I am fairly sure that the word is examiner.)

I wish you well.



P.S. Tdol left the ex off of examiners.

:wink:

 

[smee1]

Dear RonBee and Tdol,
I agree on the use of "to make" instead of "to manage". I think that "to manage" aims at hability and "to make" at accomplishment and I am already expressing hability by the modal "could". What do you think?

To the word "examiner" I finally found it in my issue of Longman dictionary but anything about "aminer" I bet Tdol will say something about it. Perhaps it belongs to some kind of students' slang.

Forgive me for the word "examinator" I sort of invented it to make this short because, in my English level, we are familiar to say "the person who gives the exam" and it seemed too long.

Thank you.
Jorge

 

[Tdol]

The 'ex' seems to have been swallowed. ;-)

 

[RonBee]

Dear RonBee and Tdol,
I agree on the use of "to make" instead of "to manage". I think that "to manage" aims at hability and "to make" at accomplishment and I am already expressing hability by the modal "could". What do you think?

Um, do you mean ability? (Your analysis seems logical enough to me.)

Forgive me for the word "examinator" I sort of invented it to make this short because, in my English level, we are familiar to say "the person who gives the exam" and it seemed too long.

We would say used to when talking about something we are accustomed to doing.