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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'



 
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Does "bear the meaning" sound natural? | "Nothing suggest itself. There is nothing to do but keep on."
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:08 am  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

I entered his office and found him ___ at a table ___ a book

a. seating - read
b. seating - reading
c. seated - read
d. seated - reading

=> I choose d for this. I've already understood the use of "reading" here but I'm not very clear about "seated". Certainly we don't use "seat" or "seating" but could you please tell me more about the use of "find + O + gerund/participle" (I think this is also correct: "I entered his office and found him sitting at a table reading a book")

Many thanks in advance.
Nessie
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:11 am  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

I would choose "B" Smile
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:01 am  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Hi Alex,

What do you think about this:

sit down = be seated (note that "seat" has no meaning of "sit")
Please sit down = please take a seat = please be seated.

Thus I think we can't say "I entered his office and found him seating at a table reading a book"
I just wonder whether we can say "I entered his office and found him be seated..." or not. This syntax is a bit strange to me.
nessie
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Joined: 16 Feb 2008
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:24 am  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Hi Nessie,

I would say: I found him sitting ... reading. I think 'seated' is too formal here and the balance is wrong - (a past participle and a gerund both dependent on 'found' doesn't work). It's used for example when there is a ceremony taking place and everybody is standing. The person in charge of the event would then say: Please be seated. This is a formal way of saying: Please sit down.

Alan
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:36 am  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

nessie wrote:
Hi Alex,

What do you think about this:

sit down = be seated (note that "seat" has no meaning of "sit")
Please sit down = please take a seat = please be seated.
.

Hi, Nessie

Sorry, I actually meant "sitting", not seating. Now I see that option "B" contains "seating", but not "sitting".
I agree with your choice - it should be "seated" and "reading" (and so does Alan Smile )
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:59 am  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Hi Alan,
Thanks for your help Smile. I also think the use "be seated" a bit too formal. However I'm still not very clear about the wrong balance here (sorry! Embarassed )
Grammatically we can use "be seated" in stead of "sit", can't we? And so in this case if we still want to use "be seated", what should be changed to make a good balance?

Alan wrote:
the balance is wrong - (a past participle and a gerund both dependent on 'found' doesn't work).

Alan

Thank you very much.
Nessie. Smile
_________________
Sad... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know.. Sad

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...
nessie
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Feb 2008
Posts: 1031

Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Sat Jul 05, 2008 18:59 pm  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Hi Alan,
Could you please tell me your idea?

Many thanks
Nessie.
nessie
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 16 Feb 2008
Posts: 1031

Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Sun Jul 06, 2008 21:02 pm  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Hi Nessie

To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with the sentence "I entered his office and found him seated at a table reading a book".

Of course, it would also be possible to say "I went into his office and saw him sitting at a table reading a book", for example.
.
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Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Sun Jul 06, 2008 21:24 pm  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Thanks a lot, Amy Smile
By the way, have you any idea about the difference between "seated" and "sitting" here? (difference in meaning) - (level of formality)
nessie
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Joined: 16 Feb 2008
Posts: 1031

Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book' Sun Jul 06, 2008 21:57 pm  Sentence 'I entered his office and found him ... at a table ... a book'
 

Hi Nessie

The word "seated" is a little more formal. On the other hand, it is also slightly more formal to say "entered the office" instead of "went into the office". It is also slightly more formal to say "found him" instead of "saw him". Therefore, I don't see any real conflict in the level of formality if you use the word "seated" in the original sentence.
.
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