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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?
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Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary |
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Torsten
Learning Coach
Joined: 25 Sep 2003
Posts: 10059
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.
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Skrej
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 03 Jul 2008
Posts: 863
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
New Member
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 9
Location: Philippines
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| #9 (permalink) Fri Jul 10, 2009 14:16 pm Don't drink and drive |
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why didnt we use 'take' instead of drive??
"you must not drink and then take a car' |
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Sagarika
New Member
Joined: 02 Jul 2009
Posts: 2
Location: India
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| #10 (permalink) Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:21 pm Don't drink and drive |
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| Skrej wrote: |
| 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. |
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Aleksandra
New Member
Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Posts: 4
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| #11 (permalink) Tue Jul 14, 2009 12:28 pm Don't drink and drive |
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Sorry for previous message. It was mstake. And now.
I very often come across the expression "Plan to be spontaneous tomorrow". Could you convert it another way, I don't quite understand the meaning.
TIA, Aleksandra. |
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Aleksandra
New Member
Joined: 13 Feb 2008
Posts: 4
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| #12 (permalink) Thu Aug 27, 2009 15:43 pm Don't drink and drive |
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thanks alot
see you |
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Drmanhcuong
New Member
Joined: 27 Aug 2009
Posts: 2
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| #13 (permalink) Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:34 am Don't drink and drive |
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why didnt we use 'take' instead of drive??
"you must not drink and then take a car'...i litle bit confuse in here.. |
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Watie
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 11 Nov 2009
Posts: 22
Location: Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
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| #14 (permalink) Wed Nov 11, 2009 8:09 am Don't drink and drive |
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'Taking a car' is not necessarily driving it yourself; if you do not drive it, you can be drunk.
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Mister Micawber
Language Coach
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| Is this a typo? (hold vs. told) | Have to vs. must? |
