grammar question

[tridentseven]

ok english isn't my main language so i get mixed up sometimes when writing. here are couple things i need help with:

1. "if i were" or "if i was"

2. why can't i say furnitures?

3. why is it "sleep in my bed" and not "sleep on my bed"?

4. why is it "In Rome" and not "at Rome"

i mainly have problem with picking the right preposition(in, at, on) and when to use ploral and singular ex. "that needs more water" or "that need more water"

if anyone can recommend a book or briefly explain it to me, that'll be great.

[scotpgot]

To be honest, I can't explain why these things are so either (and I'm a native English speaker).

I can recommend Elements of Style by Strunk and White. It is one of the classics of grammar and composition. Used in most high school and universities. However, I'm not sure if it addresses your specific questions.

[Moira]

furniture

In linguistics, a mass noun is a type of common noun that cannot be modified by a number without specifying a unit of measurement. Thus, it can be said of mass nouns either (a) that they have singular but no plural forms, or (b) that the grammatical concept of singular-vs-plural does not apply to them.

You can say 'two pieces of furniture' ...........

If I were an eagle, I would have wings.

[kandaurov]

1. "if i were" or "if i was"
If I were. Don't really remember the explanation for this, but I think that the conditional tense of the verb "to be" is, in all forms, "were".

If I were
If you were
If he were
etc

2. why can't i say furnitures?
For the same reason that you can't say "breads", or "moneys". Moira has developed this point very well.

3. why is it "sleep in my bed" and not "sleep on my bed"?
Because the preposition "in" suggests more the idea of "above", "on top of" than the preposition "on" does. Well, it's just convention. The english prepositions are a tough cookie to eat, and that is the section of the language in which I'm least comfortable (ex aequo with phrasal verbs)

4. why is it "In Rome" and not "at Rome"
Because "in" is the preposition used for cities and countries. This is a mere convention. In things related to time the same conventions exist:

"At"
nine o'clock
midnight

"On"
Monday
Tuesday

"In"
1927
14th century


As for the book, I'd recommend any grammar. They will surely explain this to you better then I did.

Hope I was of any help, and the other members of this forum will correct me if they see any fault in my explanations. Welcome aboard, tridentseven!

[cows]

With "If I were" vs "If I was", the word "were" maintains the hypothertical statement presented by "If". "Was" is past tense for things that happened.

When in doubt, get "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White.

[tridentseven]

ok thanks alot guys. i'll get the book you guys suggested and see if its on ebay or amazon. As for "if i were" vs "If i was," i usually say "If i were" but i hear alot of people, even on the television say "If i was" so i wanted to make sure.

what about

"that needs more water" or "that need more water"

[kandaurov]

Yeah, even yesterday I noticed Jack Johnson singing "And if I was in your position I'd put down all my ammunition". "If I was". It made me kind of sad

"that needs more water" or "that need more water"
That needs more water. When the subject is impersonal (like "that", "it", or the german "es" [where are you from? I could help you more if I knew your mother tongue]) the verbs must be in the third person singular.

[tridentseven]

thanks alot. i don't really know what third person singular is but i guess "needs" is used for object while "need" is used for people. my first language is japanese by the way.

[Sudolee]

to know when you use "need" or "needs" does not depend on if you are talking about a person or a thing, but if it is singular or plural. So a plant NEEDS watering, or your plants NEED watering. Does that make sense?

[Dreadnought]

"were" is the subjunctive tense.

You would use "were" if there was a possibility that it might not happen. "was" is the indicative past tense, indicating with definity that it did happen.

[Moira]

thanks alot. i don't really know what third person singular is but i guess "needs" is used for object while "need" is used for people. my first language is japanese by the way.

First person singular

I need

First person plural

We need

Second person singuar

You need

Second person plural

You need

Third person singular

He/She/It needs

Third person plural

They need

You use 'needs' when you refer to the third person singular.

I hope it is clear enough.

[xtianfriborg13]

1. "if i were" or "if i was"
If I were. Don't really remember the explanation for this, but I think that the conditional tense of the verb "to be" is, in all forms, "were".

If I were
If you were
If he were
etc

2. why can't i say furnitures?
For the same reason that you can't say "breads", or "moneys". Moira has developed this point very well.

3. why is it "sleep in my bed" and not "sleep on my bed"?
Because the preposition "in" suggests more the idea of "above", "on top of" than the preposition "on" does. Well, it's just convention. The english prepositions are a tough cookie to eat, and that is the section of the language in which I'm least comfortable (ex aequo with phrasal verbs)

4. why is it "In Rome" and not "at Rome"
Because "in" is the preposition used for cities and countries. This is a mere convention. In things related to time the same conventions exist:

"At"
nine o'clock
midnight

"On"
Monday
Tuesday

"In"
1927
14th century


As for the book, I'd recommend any grammar. They will surely explain this to you better then I did.

Hope I was of any help, and the other members of this forum will correct me if they see any fault in my explanations. Welcome aboard, tridentseven!

Very well explained!

[miyako73]

which is correct?

His breath smells of dead rat.

or

His breath smells like dead rat.

[hillwalker]

Both are correct -

'of dead rat' = his breath has a taint of dead rat to it

'like dead rat' = his breath smells similar to dead rat

The only time it could be misinterpreted by certain pedantic individuals is if you wrote 'he smells like a rat'
- i.e. he smells with his nose the same way a rat smells with its nose.

H

[AuntShecky]

Both are correct -

'of dead rat' = his breath has a taint of dead rat to it

'like dead rat' = his breath smells similar to dead rat

The only time it could be misinterpreted by certain pedantic individuals is if you wrote 'he smells like a rat'
- i.e. he smells with his nose the same way a rat smells with its nose.

H

Every time a question concerning the verb "to smell" comes up, I always grab it as yet another opportunity to quote an old joke and an even older anecdote:

First, the joke:
Man: I just came back from the Vet. My dog had to have his nose amputated.
Woman: Oh, my goodness! How does he smell?
Man: Awful!

And now the anecdote: Dr. Samuel Johnson was riding through the English countryside in an overcrowded coach, which, as one would expect, was redolent with unpleasant bodily odors. A female passenger sniffed and sniffed until she found the source. She turned to Dr. Johnson and complained, "Sir, you smell!"

To wit Dr Johnson replied, "I beg your pardon, Madam. You smell -- I stink! "