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Expression "It's good to GET a winner"



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
"This" via "It" | Need someone help... (please check my writing/paraphrase)
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Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:35 am  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Quote:
"It's good to get a winner," said McCoy. "I was gutted yesterday because I thought Black Jack Ketchum had broken his neck and if that would have happened it would have killed me.

I think the red "get" in this sentence means "have, obtain". Some say it means "become." Could you tell me which is correct?

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cheltenham2007/story/0,,2035911,00.html Shocked
guinevere
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Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Thu Sep 06, 2007 6:15 am  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Hi Guinevere

I understand it the same way you do. McCoy was happy that he had/obtained a winning horse to ride.

By the way, you can tell those others that, grammatically speaking, it would be basically impossible to use the verb 'get' to mean 'become' in that sentence. When the verb 'get' is used to mean 'become', it is generally not followed by a noun.

* Special note to my British friends here in the forum:
I'm starting to get used to this British usage of the word 'gutted'.
Laughing Wink
.
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Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:58 am  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Thanks Yankee! I appreciate your help alot! Embarassed Very Happy
guinevere
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Joined: 02 Aug 2007
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Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Thu Sep 06, 2007 13:06 pm  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Hi, Amy

Isn't it wrong to use would have had after if ? ...if that would have happened it would have killed me... ?
Maybe, it should read if that had happened it would have killed me ?
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Alex

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Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Thu Sep 06, 2007 14:04 pm  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Hi Alex

I noticed that too and found it interesting that apparently some Brits make exactly the same sort of IF-sentence error that some Americans do. This usage seems to have increased in informal English here in the US. The non-standard use of would in the IF half of an IF-sentence seems to happen primarily in type 3 conditionals, and only in informal language.

You're right, of course. To make that sentence grammatically impeccable and standard, it should be changed to "if that had happened".
.
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 7377
Location: Northeast US

Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Thu Sep 06, 2007 14:12 pm  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Hi, Amy

I think I know where it comes from - from russian. In russian people use particle "бы" (sounds like bi) in both "if" and "then" clauses. So, they are likely to associate "would" with "бы" and use "would" in both English clauses too.

But we won't let them change English, won't we?! Very Happy
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Alex

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lost_soul
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Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Thu Sep 06, 2007 14:21 pm  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

.
I don't think we can "blame" the Russians for this. (But you never know... ) Laughing

By the way:
Quote:
But we won't let them change English, will we?!

Wink
.
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Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English
Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 7377
Location: Northeast US

Expression "It's good to GET a winner" Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:53 am  Expression "It's good to GET a winner"
 

Thank you for help, Yankee! And lost_soul, I welcome your active participation!
I know what lost_soul's thinking about.
In German, it' the same as Russian. There's no distintinction in form between if-clause and main-clause.
But I think many British people don't think it's an error to say like that. It may be more acceptable than in American English.
guinevere
I'm new here and I like it ;-)


Joined: 02 Aug 2007
Posts: 29

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