Thread: My questions about English

Which is what my friends said when I told them I'm going to become a rock star.
I don't translate 'Which is what'. What does it means?
I took it off here: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice ... 070719.pdf (1st idiom)

Originally Posted by oldboy

“This work has to be made at once.”

People, am I blind, or did nobody correct a CLASSIC and glaring English mistake??
Made -- Done

The correct sentence is:
This [work] has to be DONE at once.

It is wrong to use MADE in this sentence!

This sentence should ideally be:

This work has to be finished at once!
This work has to be completed at once!
This has to be done at once!
This task has to be done at once!

@Oldboy: Check the grammar rules for Make / Done.
It's a classic learners' mistake. I know... Explained here.
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/doormake.htm

Originally Posted by Hanna

@Oldboy: Check the grammar rules for Make / Done. [/b]
It's a classic learners' mistake. I know... Explained here.
http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/doormake.htm

Thanks, Hanna.
Telling the truth, I have already known the difference between 'make' and 'do', but, nevertheless thank you.
Incidentally, I took this example off this website. I have just changed 'asap' to 'at once'.

Originally Posted by oldboy

Which is what my friends said when I told them I'm going to become a rock star.
I don't translate 'Which is what'. What does it means? -> mean
I took it off here: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/worldservice ... 070719.pdf (1st idiom)

You can phrase it like this: which is (the same thing as that which) my friends said when... The part in brackets can simply be replaced with "what".

Originally Posted by bitpicker

You can phrase it like this: which is (the same thing as that which) my friends said when... The part in brackets can simply be replaced with "what".

Ah! I see now. Thanks, bitpicker!

Originally Posted by Hanna

People, am I blind, or did nobody correct a CLASSIC and glaring English mistake??
Made -- Done

calm down

From the below sentences are all they correct and have the same meaning?
It needn't to do it.
It don't need to do it.
It's necessary to do it.

Hi, oldboy.

Originally Posted by oldboy

From the below sentences are all they correct and have the same meaning?
It needn't to do it.
It don't need to do it.
It's necessary to do it.

These sentences do not mean the same thing. The last one looks correct. The first two are not standard usages. The first two are indicating that something does not need to be done while the last indicates that something needs to be done.

The first two could be written like this:
It needn't be done.
It doesn't need to be done.

To make the last sentence have a similar meaning to the first two, a negation needs to be added, something like this: 'It's not necessary to do it.'

Is this useful to you?

Originally Posted by Seraph

Hi, oldboy.
These sentences do not mean the same thing. The last one looks correct. The first two are not standard usages. The first two are indicating that something does not need to be done while the last indicates that something needs to be done.

The first two could be written like this:
It needn't be done.
It doesn't need to be done.

To make the last sentence have a similar meaning to the first two, a negation needs to be added, something like this: 'It's not necessary to do it.'

Is this useful to you?

Hi, Seraph.

Damn! I'm sorry!!! I've made a mistake. :fool"
In the last way, I meant 'It's not necessary to do it.' and not 'It's necessary to do it.'
For example, I want to say: 'Здесь не нужно ничего делать'. = 'Here, It's not necessary to do anything.'
In the way are the first two variants (with the verb 'need') impossible?
Or, instead of 'Here, It's not necessary to do anything.', can I say 'Here, one needn't do it. / Here, one don't need to do it.'?

P.S.: 'to do anything' is, for example: to park a car or to push bottoms...

Damn! I'm sorry!!! I've made a mistake. :fool"
In the last way, I meant 'It's not necessary to do it.' and not 'It's necessary to do it.'
For example, I want to say: 'Здесь не нужно ничего делать'. = 'Here, It's not necessary to do anything.'
In the way are the first two variants (with the verb 'need') impossible?
Or, instead of 'Here, It's not necessary to do anything.', can I say 'Here, one needn't do it. / Here, one don't need to do it.'?

P.S.: 'to do anything' is, for example: to park a car or to push bottoms...

Hi Oldboy, From the way you had constructed the sentences, I thought you probably meant 'not' for the last example.

The first two examples actually mean something, but perhaps not exactly what you intended. Some little tweaks would make the examples fine.

Here, one needn't do it => Here, one needn't do a thing. ('a thing' or 'anything' ) (Unless you mean a specific thing as 'it' .)

Here, one don't need to do it => Here, one doesn't need to do a thing. (Or 'anything'.) [Don't is for several grammatical persons, 'I don't, you don't, we don't, they don't, but not for he, she, it, or one. He doesn't, she doesn't, it doesn't, one doesn't...]

In some circumstances, 'One doesn't need to do it' would be perfectly fine. Grammar ok.

Here, one needn't do it. actually is a correct sentence, but it refers to a specific 'it'.

Originally Posted by oldboy

From the below sentences are all they correct and have the same meaning?
It needn't to do it.
It don't need to do it.
It's necessary to do it.

The first two are grammatically incorrect. They are attempts at a direct translation of "надо", correct?

To express "It is not necessary to do it" with "need" you have the following options:

You (he, we etc.) need not do it.
You (...) don't need to do it.
There is no need to do it.

Unlike (мне) не надо in English you see no outside obligation, no "it" which makes you obliged. Therefore you simply use a pronoun as subject like you would with должен. If you want to use an impersonal expression, the second one can be used, but "need" is a noun here, not a verb.

Also notice that while you say "I need to do it" you do not use "to" in the negative sentence: I need not do it. Either like that or using "don't". I would say that there is a slight difference in meaning: you don't need to do it (but you may if you want), but you need not do it (so don't).

Robin

Originally Posted by Seraph

Damn! I'm sorry!!! I've made a mistake. :fool"
In the last way, I meant 'It's not necessary to do it.' and not 'It's necessary to do it.'
For example, I want to say: 'Здесь не нужно ничего делать'. = 'Here, It's not necessary to do anything.'
In the way are the first two variants (with the verb 'need') impossible?
Or, instead of 'Here, It's not necessary to do anything.', can I say 'Here, one needn't do it. / Here, one don't need to do it.'?

P.S.: 'to do anything' is, for example: to park a car or to push bottoms...

Hi Oldboy, From the way you had constructed the sentences, I thought you probably meant 'not' for the last example.

The first two examples actually mean something, but perhaps not exactly what you intended. Some little tweaks would make the examples fine.

Here, one needn't do it => Here, one needn't do a thing. ('a thing' or 'anything' ) (Unless you mean a specific thing as 'it' .)

Here, one don't need to do it => Here, one doesn't need to do a thing. (Or 'anything'.) [Don't is for several grammatical persons, 'I don't, you don't, we don't, they don't, but not for he, she, it, or one. He doesn't, she doesn't, it doesn't, one doesn't...]

In some circumstances, 'One doesn't need to do it' would be perfectly fine. Grammar ok.

Here, one needn't do it. actually is a correct sentence, but it refers to a specific 'it'.

Thanks, Seraph.

Originally Posted by bitpicker

Originally Posted by oldboy

From the below sentences are all they correct and have the same meaning?
It needn't to do it.
It don't need to do it.
It's necessary to do it.

The first two are grammatically incorrect. They are attempts at a direct translation of "надо", correct?

To express "It is not necessary to do it" with "need" you have the following options:

You (he, we etc.) need not do it.
You (...) don't need to do it.
There is no need to do it.

Unlike (мне) не надо in English you see no outside obligation, no "it" which makes you obliged. Therefore you simply use a pronoun as subject like you would with должен. If you want to use an impersonal expression, the second one can be used, but "need" is a noun here, not a verb.

Also notice that while you say "I need to do it" you do not use "to" in the negative sentence: I need not do it. Either like that or using "don't". I would say that there is a slight difference in meaning: you don't need to do it (but you may if you want), but you need not do it (so don't).

Robin

Now, I see (There is no need to do it). Thank you, Robin.

Cannot one use pronoun 'one' to make an impersonal sentence in this way? For example, 'One don't need to do it.' instead of 'There is no need to do it.'

Originally Posted by oldboy

...Cannot one use pronoun 'one' to make an impersonal sentence in this way? For example, 'One don't need to do it.' instead of 'There is no need to do it.'

One may indeed make an impersonal sentence this way. But use "one doesn't", not "one don't". As in "One doesn't need to do it".
One as a grammatical person takes the same verb forms as 'he, she, it' that is third person singular.

Originally Posted by Seraph

Originally Posted by oldboy

...Cannot one use pronoun 'one' to make an impersonal sentence in this way? For example, 'One don't need to do it.' instead of 'There is no need to do it.'

One may indeed make an impersonal sentence this way. But use "one doesn't", not "one don't". As in "One doesn't need to do it".
One as a grammatical person takes the same verb forms as 'he, she, it' that is third person singular.

Why of course, 'one doesn't.' )

Originally Posted by Lynn

Whoops! I feel especially silly because I debated whether I should end неправильна with а or о (and obviously chose wrong). :fool" Thanks for your help!

I am sorry, I know this was posted long time ago, but I just can't read it calmly. "Неправильно" пишется с буквой "о" на конце, а не с "а".

Originally Posted by Cute Shark

I am sorry, I know this was posted long time ago, but I just can't read it calmly. "Неправильно" пишется с буквой "о" на конце, а не с "а".

No, in that phrase it should be неправильна.
Also ваша without capitalisation was correct.

Originally Posted by deker

Originally Posted by Cute Shark

I am sorry, I know this was posted long time ago, but I just can't read it calmly. "Неправильно" пишется с буквой "о" на конце, а не с "а".

No, in that phrase it should be неправильна.
Also ваша without capitalisation was correct.

Not to hijack the thread too much, but I'm still interested in understanding this. The original statement was: Кстати, ваша "подпись" неправельно.

Aside from the unfortunate misspelling неправильно, I used "o" because I decided in that sentence the word was like an adverb. "By the way, your signature [is] not correct." Since the word was on the other side of an imaginary "is" I decided it was modifying the implied verb. Would I use "o" if подпись and неправильно were more obviously separated? Кстати, ваша "подпись" -- это неправельно. (versus "эта подоись -- неправильна.")

I don't know if this logic makes any sense to native speakers, but I would like to know which really is grammatically correct, and if possible, why.

As for ваша, I thought that it was Ваша/Вы in a formal letter to someone, and ваша/вы in an informal situation... like on the internet. (I didn't think ты was appropriate for my first reply to someone I'd never met.)

Please help me sort this out?

Originally Posted by Lynn

Originally Posted by deker

Originally Posted by Cute Shark

Please help me sort this out?

Lynn, it's easier than you might think. "Неправильно" - is an adverb, which answers the question как? = Do I do it correctly (Я делаю это правильно?). Нет, я делаю это (как?) неправильно.

(Ваша подпись) неправильна - is a short adjective of неправильная. (answers the question какая? - неправильная), just drop out -я. "Your signature is incorrect." ="Ваша подпись неправильна(-я)".

Originally Posted by deker

No, in that phrase it should be неправильна.

Oh, I'm sorry, right. I should be more attentive next time.