I want to buy uncle Gareth's estate

[alpacinou]

Is this correct and natural?

I want to buy uncle Gareth's estate and turn all of it to a garden. I owe the piece of land the estate is on. I used to rest under the shade of the trees sprouted from its soil and enjoyed the scent of the flowers that blossomed on them. I feasted on the sweet fruits those trees nurtured and bore and I dipped my toes in the furrows of the land and splashed its pure water on my face. I blew the dandelion clocks and almost all of my wishes I made while doing so came true. I'm planning on rising a tree for each good memory I have from the place.

 

[tedmc]

I don't understand the second sentence.

In the last sentence, by "rising a tree", do you mean "planting a tree"? I have not heard of the former.

 

[alpacinou]

The second sentence means the person feels as though they owe a debt of gratitude to that particular piece of land.

Can't I say "raising trees" instead of planting trees?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Is this correct and natural?

I want to buy uncle Gareth's estate and turn all of it into a garden. I own the piece of land the estate is on.

1. If you own it, you don't need to buy it.

2. Owning the land is owning the estate.

I used to rest under the shade of the trees sprouted from its soil and enjoyed the scent of the flowers that blossomed on them. I feasted on the sweet fruits those trees nurtured and bore and I dipped my toes in the furrows of the land and splashed its pure water on my face. I blew the dandelion clocks and almost all of my wishes I made while doing so came true. I'm planning on raising a tree for each good memory I have from the place.

Can you tell us more about what you want the second sentence to mean?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The second sentence means the person feels as though they owe a debt of gratitude to that particular piece of land.

Can't I say "raising trees" instead of planting trees?

You can, although "planting" is more natural.

 

[alpacinou]

Can you tell us more about what you want the second sentence to mean?

Thank you Charlie!

I meant "owe" not own. I'm not sure if it's correct now. It's like you owe a person. Can you owe a piece of land because it has given you so many good memories?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thank you Charlie!

I meant "owe" not own. I'm not sure if it's correct now. It's like you owe a person. Can you owe a piece of land because it has given you so many good memories?

Oh!

Thanks. I sit corrected. I think you need to reword it. If I didn't get it, I probably won't be the only one.

 

[alpacinou]

Oh!

Thanks. I sit corrected. I think you need to reword it. If I didn't get it, I probably won't be the only one.

What should I use instead of "owe"? What about owe of gratitude?

I want to buy uncle Gareth's estate and turn all of it into a garden. The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories and I owe it a debt of gratitude. I used to rest under the shade of the trees sprouted from its soil and enjoyed the scent of the flowers that blossomed on them. I feasted on the sweet fruits those trees nurtured and bore and I dipped my toes in the furrows of the land and splashed its pure water on my face. I blew the dandelion clocks and almost all of my wishes I made while doing so came true. I'm planning on raising a tree for each good memory I have from the place.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

What should I use instead of "owe"? What about owe of gratitude?

I want to buy uncle Gareth's estate and turn all of it into a garden. The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories and I owe it a debt of gratitude. I used to rest under the shade of the trees sprouted from its soil and enjoyed the scent of the flowers that blossomed on them. I feasted on the sweet fruits those trees nurtured and bore and I dipped my toes in the furrows of the land and splashed its pure water on my face. I blew the dandelion clocks and almost all of my wishes I made while doing so came true. I'm planning on raising a tree for each good memory I have from the place.

Much better!

But you created a compound sentence, so it needs a . . . . ?

You could also say: The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories that I owe it a debt of gratitude.

Or: The land has given me so many good memories that I owe it a debt of gratitude.

There's a book and movie called A River Runs Through It. The main character is a young guy wants to be a writer. His father gives him writing assignments. When the boy finishes the assigment, his father reads it and says, "Good. Now cut it in half."

So he does and gives the rewrite to his father, who reads it and says, "Good. Now cut it in half again."

So he does, and gives the re-rewrite to his father, who reads it and says, "Good. Now tear it up!"

 

[alpacinou]

Much better!

But you created a compound sentence, so it needs a . . . . ?

You could also say: The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories that I owe it a debt of gratitude.

Or: The land has given me so many good memories that I owe it a debt of gratitude.

There's a book and movie called A River Runs Through It. The main character is a young guy wants to be a writer. His father gives him writing assignments. When the boy finishes the assigment, his father reads it and says, "Good. Now cut it in half."

So he does and gives the rewrite to his father, who reads it and says, "Good. Now cut it in half again."

So he does, and gives the re-rewrite to his father, who reads it and says, "Good. Now tear it up!"

Gotcha! So, do I have tear this up? At least you were gentle about it.

Could you please explain compound sentences and the way commas are used in them?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Gotcha! So, do I have tear this up? At least you were gentle about it.

No, indeed! You'll notice I often suggest shortening things. I showed you a way to shorten that sentence.

Could you please explain compound sentences and the way commas are used in them?

A compound sentence is two or more complete clauses combined into one sentence. Here is one of yours:

The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories and I owe it a debt of gratitude.

The two clauses are:

- The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories.

- I owe it a debt of gratitude.

Combining them is fine. To do that we use a comma and then a conjunction. You have the conjunction (and) but still need the comma.

Is combining them always fine? It is always grammatical, but in practice, it only works when the sentences relate, and yours certainly do.* Your compound sentences always make sense.

But you often forget that little detail, the comma. So we have to add them, and we'd rather you did that work!*

As you know, punctuation marks are the traffic signs that tell the reader which way to go, what just happened, and what's up ahead. They help readers make sense of things. In a compound sentence, they tell the reader that a new, closely related thought, in the form of a fresh clause, has arrived.

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*Did you notice the comma-and there?

 

[alpacinou]

A compound sentence is two or more complete clauses combined into one sentence. Here is one of yours:

The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories and I owe it a debt of gratitude.

The two clauses are:

- The land the estate is on has given me so many good memories.

- I owe it a debt of gratitude.

Combining them is fine. To do that we use a comma and then a conjunction. You have the conjunction (and) but still need the comma.

Is combining them always fine? It is always grammatical, but in practice, it only works when the sentences relate, and yours certainly do.* Your compound sentences always make sense.

But you often forget that little detail, the comma. So we have to add them, and we'd rather you did that work!*

As you know, punctuation marks are the traffic signs that tell the reader which way to go, what just happened, and what's up ahead. They help readers make sense of things. In a compound sentence, they tell the reader that a new, closely related thought, in the form of a fresh clause, has arrived.

-----------
*Did you notice the comma-and there?

Thank you so much!

For some reason, I thought I don't need comma before "and". From now on, I will make sure to put a comma before "and" when I have compound sentences.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thank you so much!

For some reason, I thought I don't need comma before "and". From now on, I will make sure to put a comma before "and" when I have compound sentences.

If it's VERY short, you don't need it: "Sit down and shut up!" (I had a teacher who used to say that to me in Spanish.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS -

Rachel just posted a perfect example of compound sentence confusion. She wrote: "The conclusion is simple: don't read the news and live in peace."

Do you see the problem? Without a comma before and, it's a series of two things: (a) Don't read the news, and (b) don't live in peace.

Instead, what she needs is two independent clauses: "don't read the news, and live in peace": two separate, related statements.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

PS -

Rachel just posted a great example of compound sentence confusion: "The conclusion is simple: don't read the news and live in peace."

Do you see the problem? Without a comma before and, It's a series of two don'ts: (a) don't read the news and (b) don't live in peace.

Be she means the opposite: don't read the news, and live in peace. Adding a comma turns it into two independent clauses: (a) don't read the news, and (b) live in peace.