[Grammar] Sam finished the work which I will do.

[Nanu1]

If the subordinate clause is an adjective clause, it may be in any tense as is required by the sense:
1) Sam finished the work which I do.
2) Sam finished the work which I did.
3) Sam finished the work which I will do.


Here the sense of the present tense and the future tense of adjective clause in sentence (1) and sentence (3) are fine to me because "Sam finished the work which I have to do." But in the sentence (2) it is not fine to me because "how can Sam finished the same work which I already did?"

 

[Rover_KE]

Please note that I have changed your thread title.

Extract from the Posting Guidelines:

'Thread titles should include all or part of the word/phrase being discussed.'

 

[Nanu1]

All of those are grammatically valid, and none of those seem to make much semantic sense without contorting the meaning of do or finish somewhat. Arguably (2) makes the most sense (if you accept that doing the work doesn't mean it can't then be further finished by someone else), but (1) and (3) don't - if Sam finished that work, you don't do it anymore, nor will you be doing it. Is this correct?

 

[jutfrank]

You're right that none of those three sentences makes good sense. I don't think I'd like to say which one makes the most sense.

Where on earth did you get these sentences from? What was the point?

 

[tzfujimino]

Off topic
I think I've read Piscean's post including some comments and suggestions here in this thread. Did anybody delete it?

 

[Tarheel]

This looks just like another one I've seen. (It's probably a duplicate thread.)

 

[jutfrank]

Off topic
I think I've read Piscean's post including some comments and suggestions here in this thread. Did anybody delete it?

Yes, that's very odd! What happened to it? Mods?

 

[jutfrank]

This looks just like another one I've seen. (It's probably a duplicate thread.)

Where did you see it? I can't find it.

 

[Tarheel]

I remember seeing those sentences before. (Somebody offered corrections.)

(When I was a mod I could delete duplicate threads or combine threads.)

For the first one, perhaps:

Bob finished the work that I usually do.

 

[emsr2d2]

There is something odd going on. When I look at Nanu1's posts, there are two with the same title. However, when I click on them, they have the same thread identifier number and I can't merge them (because they have the same number)!

 

[jutfrank]

Right, which explains why they have the same 'Views' and 'Replies' count, as if they're identified as the same thread.

 

[Piscean]

Off topic
I think I've read Piscean's post including some comments and suggestions here in this thread. Did anybody delete it?

Thank you for that relief, I was sure I'd made a suggestion; however, when I came back, it had disappeared.

ps. You'll note that I am now a Newbie!

 

[Piscean]

It seems that every one of my thousands pf posts has vanished without trace.

Bother,

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

If the subordinate clause is an adjective clause, it may be in any tense as is required by the sense:
1) Sam finished the work which I do.
2) Sam finished the work which I did.
3) Sam finished the work which I will do.

None of the above. Sam might have finished the work that you planned to do or were going to do or usually do.)

Aside from the problem of needing a time machine to finish what's already finished, in American English we would say that, not which. We use which with independent clauses and that with dependent clauses:

- She stole the pie that was on the window sill. (There was more than one pie.)

- She stole the pie, which was on the window sill. (There was only one pie.)

Here the sense of the present tense and the future tense of adjective clause in sentence (1) and sentence (3) are fine to me because "Sam finished the work which I have to do."

That's still a little confusing. It's clearer to say that Sam finished the work that you were supposed to do or hired to do or expected to do or planned to do.

But in [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] sentence (2) it is not fine to me because [STRIKE]"[/STRIKE]how can Sam have finished the same work which I already did?[STRIKE]"[/STRIKE]

As people above have explained, it's not fine in 1 or 3, either.

Use quotation marks only when quoting.

Carry on!