 #2 (permalink) Tue Dec 29, 2009 22:01 pm I happen to be, (escape/ smuggle), should |
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| Redha wrote: |
Hi everybody
Hi teachers, could I have your comments please?
I happen(ed )to be his friend
What does happen mean?
To happen to + infinitive is a special construction:
- I happen to be x = it is a coincidence that I am x.
- The bus crashed, and many people were wounded; they survived only because there happened to be a nurse in the bus as well. (It was not a plan that the nurse was there.)
- My brother did not use to work in the WTC; he just happened to be nearby when the towers collapsed: that's when he died. (It was not to be expected that he should have been there at that time.)
It can also be used ironically:
A - You know nothing about Brazil: I have been there a few times, and I speak Spanish.
B - Oh, that is quite interesting. They happen to speak Portuguese in Brazil.
Could (escape) mean (Smuggle) ?
No, those are different words.
Should you ever steel from my store again, I might just ………
This is not a question, is it?
You are right: this is not inversion of a question, but is inversion of a special kind, which can happen only when "if" is left out.
R |
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 Cerberus™
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 11 Feb 2009
Posts: 1346
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