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Inversion (was it / it was)



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
"tell the truth" - indirect object | JUST and ONLY
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Inversion (was it / it was) #1 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 9:55 am   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

Doing my homework I've produced the sentence:

Do you think now the situation was really so dangerous OR [was it/ it was] just exaggeration in your mind?

Now I am in doubt about the last clause: should I apply inversion after OR as well or is it Smile the next question (by its contents)?

Help me, please...

Tamara
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Tamara
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Inversion (was it / it was) #2 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:15 am   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

Hi,Tamara!You should use it was
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Inversion (was it / it was) #3 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 10:18 am   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

It's a compound sentence and question form was already put do you think
Guest






Inversion (was it / it was) #4 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:37 pm   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

Hi Tamara

In your particular sentence, I would do one of the following:

1. Simply omit "was it/it was" since they're not necessary:
Do you think now the situation was really so dangerous OR just exaggeration in your mind?

-- or --

2. Repeat the "Do you think" (followed by no inversion):
Do you think now the situation was really so dangerous OR do you think it was just exaggeration in your mind?

-- or --

3. Invert ("was it")
Do you think now the situation was really so dangerous OR was it just exaggeration in your mind?

The reason for an inversion would be: By including the words "was" and "it", you are repeating something that otherwise wouldn't need to be repeated in the sentence. And for that reason I would treat the whole second half of the sentence as a separate question. i.e., invert subject and verb. The second half of the sentence may be less a question of what "you now think". Instead, it may be more a suggestion of what the speaker thinks. Laughing

Just my two cents.
Amy
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Inversion (was it / it was) #5 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:45 pm   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

Dear Amy

You wrote:
"Just my two cents."

Meaning? Very Happy Please

Tom
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Inversion (was it / it was) #6 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 12:51 pm   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

Hi Tom Very Happy

It's a short form of a well-known idiom:
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxputino.html

Amy
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Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
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Inversion (was it / it was) #7 (permalink) Mon Jun 19, 2006 20:52 pm   Inversion (was it / it was)
 

Thanks Guest. Thanks Amy, your 'two cents' are very valued Smile

Quote:
I would treat the whole second half of the sentence as a separate question. i.e., invert subject and verb. The second half of the sentence may be less a question of what "you now think". Instead, it may be more a suggestion of what the speaker thinks. Very Happy

As by 10.20 a.m. (the time I was forced to go) I’d had the only opinion (Guest's & my own), I’ve put it was in my initial sentence.
Now, in the evening, I’ve had the objective result: my tutor (native) had corrected it (was it) and, at my puzzled question, gave the similar rationale (as in Amy’s 3th case).
And now I've got school lines Wink

P.S.
Quote:
two cents
Quote:
similar to British "twopenny-halfpenny"
It reminded me the soundtrack of Mary Poppins (196?) 'Feed the birds, tuppence a bag ... Tuppence, tuppence, tuppence a bag…'
_________________
It’s impossible to learn swimming without entering the water…
Tamara
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 25 May 2006
Posts: 1577
Location: UK

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