grammar

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have some questions to ask.

No.1 ( The following part is from a passage about law of gravitation):

There is no end to the magic within this circle of the round world we live in. The greatest magicians today are still the physicists and chemists, the mathematicians and astronomers: the wise men seeking the answers to the riddles of earth and universe. But ________ (1) of them can tell us how it is we can walk_________ (2) a floor.

1. a. not one b. not any
I think both are correct. 'a' lays stress on every single person. 'b' lays stress on people as general. Am I right?

2. a. across b. along
The correct answer is 'a' . Does it mean to walk from one side of the earch to the other? Since it mentioned 'the round world' across and along should be the same. So I think 'b' is OK and maybe even better. If 'floor' means the surface of the earth why 'a floor'?

No.2
I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
I question is why perfect continous tense is used? Since it happens many times can I use simple present continous tense and write the sentence this way 'I have.....times we are filming ......'?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

 

[Casiopea]

There is no end to the magic within this circle of the round world we live in. The greatest magicians today are still the physicists and chemists, the mathematicians and astronomers: the wise men seeking the answers to the riddles of earth and universe. But ________ (1) of them can tell us how it is we can walk_________ (2) a floor.

1. a. not one b. not any
I think both are correct. 'a' lays stress on every single person. 'b' lays stress on people as general. Am I right?

Given the three semantic choices: Not one of them/Not anyone of them/Not any of them, I'd choose (a) 'not one'. I wouldn't chose (b) 'not any' because 'any' here is not short for 'anyone'.

2. a. across b. along
The correct answer is 'a' . Does it mean to walk from one side of the earch to the other? Since it mentioned 'the round world' across and along should be the same. So I think 'b' is OK and maybe even better. If 'floor' means the surface of the earth why 'a floor'?

I'd choose (a) 'across' based on Process of Elimination. That is, I wouldn't choose (b) because 'along' means, beside, through; alongside.

I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.

I question is why perfect continous tense is used? Since it happens many times can I use simple present continous tense and write the sentence this way 'I have.....times we are filming ......'?

Try,

I've lost count of the times we have been filming (at the time=continuous/progressive) on the street when residents have come up to us....

Note, have been filming: been = past

 

[jiang]

Thank you very much for your explanation. But I still feel confused.

First, could you please tell me how we can know 'any' does not mean anyone? We can say 'Does any of you ......' Here 'any' means anyone. Am I right?

There is no end to the magic within this circle of the round world we live in. The greatest magicians today are still the physicists and chemists, the mathematicians and astronomers: the wise men seeking the answers to the riddles of earth and universe. But ________ (1) of them can tell us how it is we can walk_________ (2) a floor.

1. a. not one b. not any
I think both are correct. 'a' lays stress on every single person. 'b' lays stress on people as general. Am I right?

Given the three semantic choices: Not one of them/Not anyone of them/Not any of them, I'd choose (a) 'not one'. I wouldn't chose (b) 'not any' because 'any' here is not short for 'anyone'.

2. We can say 'to walk along the street'. That means we walk forward on the street. Am I right?

2. a. across b. along
The correct answer is 'a' . Does it mean to walk from one side of the earch to the other? Since it mentioned 'the round world' across and along should be the same. So I think 'b' is OK and maybe even better. If 'floor' means the surface of the earth why 'a floor'?

I'd choose (a) 'across' based on Process of Elimination. That is, I wouldn't choose (b) because 'along' means, beside, through; alongside.

3. I didn't know been doing can refer to past tense. My grammar books say 'have been doing sth' means 'some act which began in the past lasts till present'. Or when we don't indicate the time the action took place. That why I got confused. Now I see.

Best wishes,

Jiang

I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.

I question is why perfect continous tense is used? Since it happens many times can I use simple present continous tense and write the sentence this way 'I have.....times we are filming ......'?

Try,

I've lost count of the times we have been filming (at the time=continuous/progressive) on the street when residents have come up to us....

Note, have been filming: been = past

 

[MikeNewYork]

Dear teachers,

I have some questions to ask.

No.1 ( The following part is from a passage about law of gravitation):

There is no end to the magic within this circle of the round world we live in. The greatest magicians today are still the physicists and chemists, the mathematicians and astronomers: the wise men seeking the answers to the riddles of earth and universe. But ________ (1) of them can tell us how it is we can walk_________ (2) a floor.

1. a. not one b. not any
I think both are correct. 'a' lays stress on every single person. 'b' lays stress on people as general. Am I right?

2. a. across b. along
The correct answer is 'a' . Does it mean to walk from one side of the earch to the other? Since it mentioned 'the round world' across and along should be the same. So I think 'b' is OK and maybe even better. If 'floor' means the surface of the earth why 'a floor'?

I agree that "not one" and "not any" are both correct. "Not one" means not a single member of any of the groups mentioned. "Not any" means not any number of the members of the groups mentioned.

"Across" is correct. We can walk along a path (long and narrow), but we walk "across" a florr, from one side of a room to the other. IMO, "floor" just means any floor in any room. It does not refer to the earth. The idea is that gravity tries to pull us down. How can we fight that force and walk perpendicular to the force of gravity? :wink:

No.2
I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
I question is why perfect continous tense is used? Since it happens many times can I use simple present continous tense and write the sentence this way 'I have.....times we are filming ......'?

In my opinion, the present perfect tenses were used because the speaker's project is not completed yet. Had his project been completed, he would have said: I lost count of the number of times we had filmed police officers on the streets when local residents had come up to us and told us that had been the first time in weeks they had seen police in the area. :wink:

In the original, the verb "is" before "the first time" should be "was".

 

[jiang]

:?
Dear MikeNewYork,
Thank you very much for your explanation. It's terrible that I still feel confused for No.1 and No.2. I'll try explain them to you.

No.1. "Not any" means not any number of the members of the groups mentioned". Then in the sentence "Does any of you know his address" actually means the speaker wants to know 'how many of you know his address'. Am I right?

No. 2. I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
Your explanation is "In my opinion, the present perfect tenses were used because the speaker's project is not completed yet". Present continuous tense lays stress on the act being perform while present perfect continuous tense lays stress on an act that began certain time ago and is still being performed. Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

Dear teachers,

I have some questions to ask.

No.1 ( The following part is from a passage about law of gravitation):

There is no end to the magic within this circle of the round world we live in. The greatest magicians today are still the physicists and chemists, the mathematicians and astronomers: the wise men seeking the answers to the riddles of earth and universe. But ________ (1) of them can tell us how it is we can walk_________ (2) a floor.

1. a. not one b. not any
I think both are correct. 'a' lays stress on every single person. 'b' lays stress on people as general. Am I right?

2. a. across b. along
The correct answer is 'a' . Does it mean to walk from one side of the earch to the other? Since it mentioned 'the round world' across and along should be the same. So I think 'b' is OK and maybe even better. If 'floor' means the surface of the earth why 'a floor'?

I agree that "not one" and "not any" are both correct. "Not one" means not a single member of any of the groups mentioned. "Not any" means not any number of the members of the groups mentioned.

"Across" is correct. We can walk along a path (long and narrow), but we walk "across" a florr, from one side of a room to the other. IMO, "floor" just means any floor in any room. It does not refer to the earth. The idea is that gravity tries to pull us down. How can we fight that force and walk perpendicular to the force of gravity? :wink:

No.2
I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
I question is why perfect continous tense is used? Since it happens many times can I use simple present continous tense and write the sentence this way 'I have.....times we are filming ......'?

In my opinion, the present perfect tenses were used because the speaker's project is not completed yet. Had his project been completed, he would have said: I lost count of the number of times we had filmed police officers on the streets when local residents had come up to us and told us that had been the first time in weeks they had seen police in the area. :wink:

In the original, the verb "is" before "the first time" should be "was".

 

[Tdol]

For actionas, the present perfect continuous us generally used when the action began in the past, has reached a certain stage of completion, but is unfinished:
I've been learning English for two years.
(Here the two years is the stage of completion, but the learning is unfinished)

We also use it to stress the duration, though here the action might well have finished:
I've been waiting for half an hour! (Finished, but I want to stress the duration)

For states, it is often used to show that something is temporary:
I've been working here for a couple of months. (It doesn't sound so permanent yet)
;-)

 

[MikeNewYork]

:?
Dear MikeNewYork,
Thank you very much for your explanation. It's terrible that I still feel confused for No.1 and No.2. I'll try explain them to you.

No.1. "Not any" means not any number of the members of the groups mentioned". Then in the sentence "Does any of you know his address" actually means the speaker wants to know 'how many of you know his address'. Am I right?

That question should be: Do any of you know his address. "Any" is one of those words that derives its number from the prepositional object. In this case, "you" must be the plural "you" because one can't have any of one person. The question is not really asking "how many"; it is soliciting the information from any person who is listening.

No. 2. I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
Your explanation is "In my opinion, the present perfect tenses were used because the speaker's project is not completed yet". Present continuous tense lays stress on the act being perform while present perfect continuous tense lays stress on an act that began certain time ago and is still being performed. Am I right?

TDOL gave a good response to this. The present perfect progressive is used for a work in progress and focuses on the continuing nature of that process during that time. :wink:

 

[jiang]

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

For actionas, the present perfect continuous us generally used when the action began in the past, has reached a certain stage of completion, but is unfinished:
I've been learning English for two years.
(Here the two years is the stage of completion, but the learning is unfinished)

We also use it to stress the duration, though here the action might well have finished:
I've been waiting for half an hour! (Finished, but I want to stress the duration)

For states, it is often used to show that something is temporary:
I've been working here for a couple of months. (It doesn't sound so permanent yet)
;-)

 

[jiang]

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see. The strange thing is that the sentence'Does any of you know his address' was quoted from a dictionary compiled by Chinese lexicographers. The original sentence is 'Do (Does) any of you know his address?'. I thought since 'do' and 'does' both are correct I omitted 'Do'. Now I see we can only use 'do'. Thank you so much for pointing this out. Otherwise, I would make a mistake this this aspect.

Jiang

:?
Dear MikeNewYork,
Thank you very much for your explanation. It's terrible that I still feel confused for No.1 and No.2. I'll try explain them to you.

No.1. "Not any" means not any number of the members of the groups mentioned". Then in the sentence "Does any of you know his address" actually means the speaker wants to know 'how many of you know his address'. Am I right?

That question should be: Do any of you know his address. "Any" is one of those words that derives its number from the prepositional object. In this case, "you" must be the plural "you" because one can't have any of one person. The question is not really asking "how many"; it is soliciting the information from any person who is listening.

No. 2. I have lost count of the times we have been filming police officers on the street when local residents have come up to us and told us it is the first time in weeks they have seen police in the area.
Your explanation is "In my opinion, the present perfect tenses were used because the speaker's project is not completed yet". Present continuous tense lays stress on the act being perform while present perfect continuous tense lays stress on an act that began certain time ago and is still being performed. Am I right?

TDOL gave a good response to this. The present perfect progressive is used for a work in progress and focuses on the continuing nature of that process during that time. :wink:

 

[MikeNewYork]

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see. The strange thing is that the sentence'Does any of you know his address' was quoted from a dictionary compiled by Chinese lexicographers. The original sentence is 'Do (Does) any of you know his address?'. I thought since 'do' and 'does' both are correct I omitted 'Do'. Now I see we can only use 'do'. Thank you so much for pointing this out. Otherwise, I would make a mistake this this aspect.

Jiang

You're very welcome. :wink: