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I found this sign displayed at the basement carpark in Jusco Tebrau City, Johor Bahru.
Could the English Language Panel please suggest how this sign could be improved?
Thanks!
Hey there!
Well, we like things to be short and simple. Except for meals, which we like to be long and extravagant.
But anyway, yes. Short and simple does the trick!
Just say ‘Please return your shopping trolley to the trolley bay after use. Thank you.’
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Curiouser and curiouser
Dear English Experts,
I refer to your reply on my queries entitled ‘apples are fruits’, reproduced below :
Please enlighten me on the rephrasing of the following statement:
In her class yesterday, she said: "apples are fruits".
Should we rephrase it as, "In her class yesterday, she said that apples were fruits." (but apples are still fruits right?) or, "In her class yesterday, she said that apples are fruits." (but it is referring to a past event?)
Awaiting your advice,
Curious to Know
Hey Curious to Know!
There is no need to shift the tense in the bit where she says 'apples are fruits' because what she said was a general truth. There is no need to shift tenses with statements like that because they are true generally any time.
Other general truths are things like the earth being round, the sky being blue, and us being hungry.
Just kidding on the last one, it isn't a general truth. But we sure are hungry.
Though you said there is no need to shift tenses with statements that are true generally any time, you shifted the tense to past when you said "There is no need to shift the tense ... because what she said was a general truth". But isn't what she said (that apples are fruits) still a general truth? Shouldn't you say "because what she said is a general truth"? By the way, should I be correct to start this paragraph as "Though you said there is no need to shift tenses ...", and wrong to start this same paragraph as "Though you said there was no need to shift tenses ..."?
Curious to Know
Hey Curious To Know!
You’re absolutely right! If we are focusing on the phrase ‘apples are fruits’ as a general truth, I should have said ‘what she said is a general truth’.
Note, though, that I was focusing on the fact that it was something that she said in the past, that’s why I used ‘was’.
So yes, groan, this can be written both ways.
And to answer your second question, your original sentence is clearer than saying ‘though you said there was no need’. ‘There is’ would make it clear that what I was saying is a rule. ‘There was’ can mean both that it is a rule, or that it was a rule but is now no longer one.
Yes, I can see that the ‘was’ is intended to refer to something I said in the past, but since you wrote ‘though you said’, it’s already pretty clear.
Now, let’s not dwell on the past any longer and look towards lunchtime, shall we?
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A matter of urgency
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Hi English Panel!
Should it be "I recommend that she read and listen to English" or "I recommend that she reads and listens to English"?
Regards,
Christina
Hello Christina!
It’s our old pal the subjunctive mood again!
Assuming that what you are saying is of importance, you should then be saying it the first way.
We use the subjunctive mood to express importance and urgency. So you would say ‘I recommend that she read and listen.’
Of course, if you’re just stating something as fact, then ‘she reads and listens to…’ would be how you’d want to write it.
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It's cool to be clear
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How do you answer a negative question?
Which two answers are correct?
Question: Shall we not go there today?
Answer A: Yes, we shall not go today
or
Answer B: No, we shall not go today.
or
Answer C: Yes, we shall go there.
or
Answer D: No, we shall we go there.
Susan Santoso
Hi Susan Santoso!
Ah, tricky little things aren’t they?
Let’s do this logically first. I’m afraid that it might help if we think about this mathematically.
A is a logically correct reply, since you are agreeing that we shall not go there today.
B is logically incorrect as a reply because you are replying ‘no’, even though you are agreeing with the question that we shall not go there today.
C is logically incorrect as a reply because you are replying ‘yes’ that we shall not go there, and following that with saying that we shall.
D is a logically incorrect reply too you disagree with the question with the reply ‘no’, and then agree with the question in the following statement.
Remember the multiplication rule: two negatives make a positive. Or that visual mnemonic: two minus signs together make a plus sign.
So if someone asks you if you do not want something and you happen to want it, you should logically reply no, you do want it.
For example:
Q: Do you not want to go to the park?
A: No, I do want to go.
You are basically saying ‘No, I do not not want to go’
Remember the rule? Don’t worry; it’ll become less unclear after a while.
However, with all that being said about whether the replies are logical or not, you do realise that with questions of this nature, the sentiment of the person replying is pretty clear whether or not the person starts with ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It’s got a lot to do with actually speaking and hearing how people say things rather than putting them down on paper for analysis.
Of course, if the person replying just says ‘yes’ or ‘no’ without elaborating on his or her answer, then we’re headed for a possible misunderstanding, Susan!
We say this once again, everyone: Be clear!
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Word-dropping
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Hi
I seek your expertise on the following:
(1) Do you say "The boss said (on) Monday that the office will be closed next week"?
(2) "He said last Monday" or "He said on last Monday."
I have read sentences with and without the 'on'. Please advise which English usage is correct.
Thank you.
Zi
Hi Zi!
This isn’t a case of right and wrong, Zi, because both ways are can be used!
If you omit the ‘on’, you are saying it in a more informal manner. We do tend to leave out words in informal speech.
But if you’re going to write it down, we’d suggest that you just leave the ‘on’ in the sentence.
Actually, it would be better to just say ‘on’ when you’re uttering the sentence too, Zi! Especially since you’re talking about what the boss is saying about next week. Can’t you just imagine a situation where someone just hears ‘The boss said Monday that the office will be close’ and then think the office will be closed on Monday?
It’s a cruel trick to play on anyone and it’s just good to be clear!
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