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#2 (permalink) Tue Mar 01, 2005 21:48 pm Don't drink and drive |
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The answer is drive:
You must not drink and then drive a car. You probably know the slogan Don't drink and drive? _________________ Test Of English for International Communication TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten Learning Coach

Joined: 25 Sep 2003 Posts: 9283 Location: EU
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#3 (permalink) Thu Jul 03, 2008 14:25 pm Don't drink and drive |
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Can we convert it to the IF condition ... If you want to drive a car then better not to drink. If you had drink then better not to drive a car. |
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Anubala I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 02 Jul 2008 Posts: 17
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#4 (permalink) Thu Jul 03, 2008 21:23 pm Don't drink and drive |
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| anubala wrote: | Can we convert it to the IF condition ... If you want to drive a car then better not to drink. If you had drink then better not to drive a car. |
Hi Anubala,
Your conditional phrases could work, with some changes. As you write them, they do sound like a proverb, but they sound unnatural.
1) If you want to drive (a car), then better not to drink.
This sentence is grammatically ok, but it doesn't sound quite natural. It sounds a bit archaic or stilted.
2) If you had drink, then better not drive (a car).
As you wrote the sentence, again you can use drink as a non-count noun, and be correct, but it sounds strange. It sounds like you're trying to force a normal sentence into a proverb. Again, not necessarily incorrect, but certainly not natural sounding.
I think what's happening is that you're trying to take a slogan or proverb, which often do have a slightly stilted or odd sound to them (and is acceptable, because we except them to sound slightly off, as that's what helps make them memorable) and turn it into a conditional, which I think if normally used more with plain speech. When you try to mix them, they sound kind of strange.
It's certainly fine to use the conditionals, but I'd suggest using them in a more colloquial manner.
To slightly modify your examples into what sounds as natural flowing speech, you could say:
1) If you want to drive a car, then you'd better not drink/have anything to drink/have a drink.
2) If you had a drink, then you'd better not drive (a car).
Hope that helps. _________________ Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow.
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Skrej I'm here quite often ;-)

Joined: 03 Jul 2008 Posts: 766 Location: Not-quite exact central USA
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#5 (permalink) Tue Jul 08, 2008 9:39 am Don't drink and drive |
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| thanks skrej ... |
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Anubala I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 02 Jul 2008 Posts: 17
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#6 (permalink) Sun Oct 26, 2008 14:44 pm Don't drink and drive |
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I'm very happy because I had 10 answers out of 10 correctly . |
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Ioni New Member

Joined: 02 Mar 2006 Posts: 9
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#7 (permalink) Fri Nov 21, 2008 16:51 pm Don't drink and drive |
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| I got ten out of ten but in second attemp. |
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Sparrow New Member

Joined: 21 Nov 2008 Posts: 9
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#8 (permalink) Mon Feb 02, 2009 10:25 am Don't drink and drive |
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yes Torsten that's easy if you knew the slogan about the don'ts of driving. the test is easy though i got 8 out of ten. But i think it's fair enough, we're just starting... and i enjoyed it very much. |
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Ana Marie I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Posts: 10 Location: Philippines
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| Meaning of "quite bring off wearing shorts" | Adapt vs. adjust |