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 Mon Jun 23, 2008 0:37 am It's about time you sell that old car and buy yourself a new one |
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- "It's about time you sold that old car."
The sentence above could be a reference to either the past or the future.
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To me, if you change that sentence to
- "It's about time you sell that old car."
then it is clear that the car has not been sold yet, but the the speaker thinks it is advisable to do so soon.
So, if I want to emphasize that the person has not sold the car yet but I want him to do so, I find it advisable, the best and perhaps right choice is the second example?
"It's about time you sell that old car ..." I do not know if anyone knows Swedish, but it is from this language that I translated the phrase from and into English. In Swedish the phrase was: "Det är på tiden att du säljer den där gamla bilen och köper en ny." |
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hegamonia
New Member
Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 8
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| Mon Jun 23, 2008 0:38 am It's about time you sell that old car and buy yourself a new one |
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"It's about time you sold that old car."
The sentence above could be a reference to either the past or the future.
.
.
To me, if you change that sentence to
- "It's about time you sell that old car."
then it is clear that the car has not been sold yet, but the the speaker thinks it is advisable to do so soon.
So, if I want to emphasize that the person has not sold the car yet but I want him to do so, I find it advisable, the best and perhaps right choice is the second example?
"It's about time you sell that old car ..." I do not know if anyone knows Swedish, but it is from this language that I translated the phrase from and into English. In Swedish the phrase was: "Det är på tiden att du säljer den där gamla bilen och köper en ny." |
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hegamonia
New Member
Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 8
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| Mon Jun 23, 2008 0:38 am It's about time you sell that old car and buy yourself a new one |
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| Quote: | "It's about time you sold that old car."
The sentence above could be a reference to either the past or the future. |
So what would this refer to?
"It was (about) time you sold that old car." |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 3705
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| Mon Jun 23, 2008 0:39 am It's about time you sell that old car and buy yourself a new one |
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| "So what would this refer to?" Do you mean in Swedish? |
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hegamonia
New Member
Joined: 19 Jun 2008
Posts: 8
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| Mon Jun 23, 2008 1:02 am It's about time you sell that old car and buy yourself a new one |
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| hegamonia wrote: | | "So what would this refer to?" Do you mean in Swedish? |
No, in English. Note the use of "was" here:
"It was (about) time you sold that old car."
And the use of "is ('s)" here:
"It's (about) time you sold that old car."
Are you saying that both sentences can refer to the past? If so, what's the difference in use between them? |
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Molly
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 12 Feb 2008
Posts: 3705
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| Phrase "They who arrive early will get the best selection of seats" | Calling upon intuition: not ever |
