Have finished work

[Dolly B.]

"Try your best to have finished work before Dad comes home."

Is the difference between this sentence and this one "Try your best to have the work finished before Dad comes home" in drawing attention to the end of doing something in the first case?

 

[tzfujimino]

"Try your best to have finished work before Dad comes home."

Is the difference between this sentence and this one "Try your best to have the work finished before Dad comes home" in drawing attention to the end of doing something in the first case?

Hello, Dolly B.:-D
I'm not sure what you mean when you say "drawing attention to the end of doing something in the first case".
Could you paraphrase it?

I don't find your first sentence grammatical/natural.

 

[5jj]

The first sentence is OK, though it's moderately natural only if the addressee works from home. Normally we 'finish work' at the end of the working day at the office/factory/etc. If we work from home we are more likely to 'stop working'.

"Try your best to have the work finished before Dad comes home"

Here, with 'the work' the reference is to a specific task, for example, decorating a room or completing a set of accounts. The focus is more on the completed task than on the fact that the addressee has completed it.

 

[emsr2d2]

Given the usage of the word "Dad" in the sentence, I suspect that the work being referred to might be homework. Is that right, Dolly B?

 

[tzfujimino]

The first sentence is OK, though it's moderately natural only if the addressee works from home. Normally we 'finish work' at the end of the working day at the office/factory/etc. If we work from home we are more likely to 'stop working'.

Here, with 'the work' the reference is to a specific task, for example, decorating a room or completing a set of accounts. The focus is more on the completed task than on the fact that the addressee has completed it.

So, that means "Try your best to have stopped working before Dad comes home.' is OK, and the focus is more on the fact that the addressee has stopped it?

 

[Dolly B.]

Given the usage of the word "Dad" in the sentence, I suspect that the work being referred to might be homework. Is that right, Dolly B?

I am not sure myself so I had thought maybe you would get it better