In a couple of cases this was not the case

[Torsten]

Here is an interesting phrase I've just heard on CNN:

"... in a couple of cases this was not the case though..."

What do you think, is the speaker of that sentence a hopeless case?
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[Englishuser]

Hi Torsten,

I think that the phrase is clumsy, however, it seems to be grammatical. I'm sure that this is exactly what you think, too, so I apologise for replying drily. Hopefully other posters will post more amusing replies.

Regards.

[Yankee]

Get thee to a punnery, Torsten.

In case you're interested in further comment, I'd say it's also the case that you're most likely to hear sentences like that in spoken, "off-the-cuff" cases. So, it may not be the case that the person on CNN is a complete basket case when it comes to English. That would be the worst-case scenario. Maybe CNN should decide on a case-by-case basis which sentences ought to be bleeped.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tom]

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Bill Shakespeare wrote in Hamlet: "Get thee to a nunnery."
Since Torsten had decided to make a little pun in his question, I used the well-known pun "Get the to a punnery" in response (an acknowledgement of his very "punny" question).

A "basket case" is the same as a "hopeless case".

Amy
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Amy
.
ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English