Path: news.nzbot.com!not-for-mail
From: "Cyrano de B." <Cyr@no.deB>
Newsgroups: alt.languages.english
References: <el40sk$aio$1@fata.cs.interbusiness.it> <4ff2a$45759015$3e18e6cb$20307@news.vispa.com>
Subject: Re: her instead of "his or her"
Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 22:30:06 +0100
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.3028
X-MIMEOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.3028
X-RFC2646: Format=Flowed; Response
Lines: 37
Message-ID: <45a2b7e1$0$312$426a34cc@news.free.fr>
Organization: Guest of ProXad - France
NNTP-Posting-Date: 08 Jan 2007 22:30:09 MET
NNTP-Posting-Host: 82.225.193.30
X-Trace: 1168291809 news-4.free.fr 312 82.225.193.30:3614
X-Complaints-To: abuse@proxad.net
Xref: news.nzbot.com alt.languages.english:1387
> "If someone decides to waste her time to translate this stuff..."
>
>
> In the sentence given, you need to use the present participle of the verb
> to translate instead of the infinitive form:-
>
> "If someone decides to waste her time translating this stuff..."
>
> I wish I had the ability to explain why. :-)
I am not a native speaker (of english), but tell me if you agree with me on
this explanation of mine:
"to waste her time to translate this stuff" seems to be a literal
But here, the sentence means that BY DOING that (translating), you will
waste time. The time-wasting is the consequence of the translating.
If "TO" was used ("waste her time to translate this stuff"), "to" would
suggest a goal (as "POUR traduire" in french). As if the goal of wasting
one's time was to "translate this stuff", which makes no sense.
It is like in the old example of "I stopped smoking". You'll hear a lot of
french people say "I stopped to smoke", because in French we say "j'ai
explicitant un peu!). "To+verb" often has that sense of goal, I find. If it
can have that sense, then it probably does.
Am I right?
C.
|
| Follow-ups: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|