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 #2 (permalink) Wed Jul 08, 2009 20:20 pm Was to/Was going to/Would |
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A and B are correct, C - wrong tense.
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning. |
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 Milanya
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Location: Texas, USA (at present)
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| #3 (permalink) Wed Jul 08, 2009 20:22 pm Was to/Was going to/Would |
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| Key is A |
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Volcano1985
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| #4 (permalink) Wed Jul 08, 2009 20:47 pm Was to/Was going to/Would |
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I cannot help it if B is also correct. The author of the test did not do a good enough job.
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con·text - The part of a text or statement that surrounds a particular word or passage and determines its meaning. |
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Milanya
I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 29 Dec 2008
Posts: 923
Location: Texas, USA (at present)
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| #5 (permalink) Thu Jul 09, 2009 20:10 pm Was to/Was going to/Would |
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| Volcano1985 wrote: |
| Key is A |
Oh my Goodness, is this? A is the key?
I would say B but not A or C
C is wrong because
Would is the past tense of will and it is the FUTURE IN THE PAST
The progress of the sentence is that: want to email --> but can not find the email address --> not send any email
If you have would here, you will have:
"I would email you but I couldn't find your address"
Reorder the sentence a bit, we have:
"I couldn't find your address, I would email you"
Shift it to Present tense, we have
"I can not find your address, I will email you"
--> So do you see the wrong logic here now?
So it must be A or B.
A is wrong because
- Was is the past tense of be
- After be you should have noun or adjective
"was + going" --> correct grammar
Moreover,
"was going to" is the past tense of "be going to" = plan to do something
Then we have:
"I was going to email you but I couldn't find your address"
Do the same way as the above, we shift the sentence tense to Present tense, and we have
"I am going to email you but I can not find your address"
And that's why I believe B is the only correct choice for this sentence
Thank you |
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Be.emily
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
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Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
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| #6 (permalink) Thu Jul 09, 2009 20:26 pm Was to/Was going to/Would |
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| Be.emily wrote: |
So it must be A or B.
A is wrong because
- Was is the past tense of be
- After be you should have noun or adjective
"was + going" --> correct grammar
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Do you know the structure to be + infinitive ? |
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Volcano1985
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| #7 (permalink) Thu Jul 09, 2009 20:39 pm Was to/Was going to/Would |
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Yeah I know
But then...
Be + infinitive = to indicate that STH is planned to happen, that it WILL DEFINITELY happen or MUST happen
= when you ask what should happen or what should be done in some particular situation
= to talk about some thing that HAPPENED later than the time you are discussing, and it WAS NOT planned at a certain time
Because I dont see the given sentence possible to be applied in any of the above cases so that is my answer
We are here to discuss, rebut and learn from each other. Thank you very much for your question |
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Be.emily
I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 03 Jul 2009
Posts: 40
Location: Hanoi, Vietnam
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| #8 (permalink) Fri Jul 10, 2009 1:18 am Was to/Was going to/Would |
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As usual, Milanya is right:)
Her answers are the correct ones.
Yes, you can say "I was to email you, but I could not find your address", meaning "we arranged in advanced that I would have to email you, but I did not do it"(to be+infinitive structure), and it is possible to say "I was going to email you", as an intention of action. The only WRONG here is "I would email you, but I could not find your address". From the second part of the sentence (I could not find your address), we can see that the first person never actually emailed the other person; therefore, It should be "I would have emailed you (perfect infinitive), but I could not find your address." So, the correct answers are A and B. The more common would be B, but A is definitely possible.:):) |
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Natasha81
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