¿Estas preparando un examen? No puedes encontrar la respuesta a tu duda? Tu novio es escocés, y no sabes que decir a su madre? . Preguntame lo que quieres saber….
The hypothetical situation in the first example is: ‘He would have killed me’. This is imaginary because it didn’t happen (because you reacted quickly)
In the second example the hypothesis: ‘If you had phoned me I wouldn’t have been late for school’ applies to both parts of the sentence: He didn’t phone you, and you were late for school.
The third conditional is hypothetical because it speaks about what would have happened, but it does not mean that the situation had to be totally imagined. The ‘If I hadn’t reacted quickly’ is a good example – the situation was real, but the result is hypothetical or imagined.
I DO a lot of work every day (IN GENERAL = Present Simple)
Don’t worry – I KNOW (IN GENERAL) what I’m doing (NOW OR SOON = Present Continuous)
More information? https://profesornativogratis.com/present-simple-vs-present-continuous-adverbs-of-frequency/
There are 2 ways to look at tthis type of question – as an ‘exam question’ or as real life English.
In real life English it depends on the context. What you have said about changing “come/go”:
The conversation was at school, and you said “Lucy will come later”. If you mention the conversation at home, the only logical sentence would be: I said that she would GO later. If you are at school, you would use “come”.
The problem with exam English is that it is not flexible enough to take these situations into account. For example, you are told to change ‘next week’ to the following week – but of the direct conversation takes place on a Monday and the reported speech on a Tuesday, then ‘next week’ is still ‘next week’.
In exam English I suppose you should use the transformation to show your teacher you can use it, although that may depend on the teacher. In real life, it’s a question of context (and logic).
The problem you have is that it doesn’t sound right because in Spanish you wouldn’t use it that way. Remember that ‘SOME/ANY’ is basically used for uncountable OR plural (indefinite) verbs, as compared with A/AN:
I have a bottle of water – I have some water (UNCOUNTABLE)
Do you have a question? – Do you have any questions? (PLURAL)
The gap you find between two cars outside the greengrocer’s is not a car park – it’s a parking space, whereas a ‘car park’ is a specific (larger) area where you can leave your car.
‘Parking’ in this case refers to a more general idea of all the places available in town.
In a word: PRACTICE
If you understand Spanish, read these articles I have written on this subject:
To and For both have a lot of meanings, but I think the problem you have is when in your language you mean ‘PARA’. This is a very common mistake. The good news is that there is a very easy explanation:
TO + VERB (These posters are to help the children in class)
FOR + NOUN (These posters are for the children)
Good question! Both are correct, but for different reasons:
“Ten minutes’ walk” is a possessive.
“A ten minute (or: ten-minute) walk” is also possible. Notice that there is no “s” in minute. This is because “ten-minute” works as an adjective, and adjectives do not use the plural form. See also:
A 6-metre fall.
An 11-year-old boy
etc etc.
Good question – really this comes down to the difference between theory (what you learn) and practice (what you actually hear in an English-speaking country.
This is a perfect example of how the grammatical rules are far more flexible in real-life situations. Although it is more common to hear for example, ‘As soon as I get my wages, I’ll pay you the money I owe’ it isn’t so strange to hear ‘I’m going to pay you as soon as I get my wages.’
I don’t think it’s very useful to talk about what is correct or incorrect here. Just think of your driving lessons, the way you were taught to drive, and how you drive now – it’s exactly the same as a language. When you are learning English, you are taught a series of rules, but as you gain experience you learn how to be more flexible.
In conclusion: I would use the future simple (will) as you have learnt, but it isn’t as strict as you may think.
I’m not really sure what you have to do in the exercise, but from what you are saying I imagine you have to replace ‘object’ with a phrasal verb, rather than using ‘object’ (I can’t think of anything if that is the case).
If I’m right, the answer would be ‘ ‘Would you RULE OUT assisting us in this difficult situation?’ = Would you object to helping us in this….?’
I hope that’s the answer!
“Are there still hippies at Woodstock?”
De hecho, me encanta esa pregunta porque es un ejemplo perfecto de la diferencia entre ‘YET’ and ‘STILL’
Are they here yet? = Haven’t they arrived?
Are they still here? = Haven’t they left?
Do you see the difference?
There are 2 possibilities:
- This knife is (used) TO CUT meat
- This knife is (used) FOR CUTTING meat
Both are correct, but the second structure can only be used for a machine/tool/etc. with ONE SOLE PURPOSE. The first option can be used in any case:
This money will be FOR HELPING TO HELP people in need.
Good question! This always comes up:
He is 7 yearS old = He is a 7-year-old boy
Quite simply, in the second sentence it acts as an adjective, and adjectives do not have a plural form:
A 5-year wait.
A 3 metre drop
A 70 kilo adult
etc. etc…..
The dash ( – ) is optional.
The basic difference between Present Simple (IN GENERAL) and Present Continuous (SPECIFIC) also applies here:
- While we are waiting for dinner, we can finish our homework = RIGHT NOW, AT THE MOMENT OF SPEAKING
- While we wait for dinner, we finish our homework = EVERY DAY
For the past, the Continuous is the most common:
While we were waiting….
Sorry for taking so long to answer! I went for a few days’ holiday.
No sé que nivel tienes, pero no es tan fácil, porque toca uno de los aspectos más complicados del Inglés – la diferencia entre la palabra escrita y como se pronuncia. Si quieres empezar a ver la complejidad, pincha aquí.
Tienes que leer, y escuchar mientras lees. Canciones, historias….
Audio+Book: https://profesornativogratis.com/category/audiobook/
Tengo un mini-class sobre esto: https://profesornativogratis.com/genitivo-sajon-si-o-no/
La verdad es que en este caso (como en muchos otros) la teoría solo nos lleva hasta cierto punto en el camino. El uso y la evolución del Inglés siempre es mucho más complejo que un serie de reglas.
Eso dicho, un par de consejos:
La posesión se entiende en su significado ás amplio, no solo ‘Juan’s pen’ sino tambien ‘Pilgrim’s Progress’, ‘The prisoner’s release’, etc.
El ‘dueño’ no tiene porque ser persona (‘The dog’s bone’) mientras que tenga personalidad. Otra vez, podemos usar esto en su sentido más amplio: ‘The sun’s rays’, y lo que has dicho: ‘The company’s report’ and ‘The book’s writer’.
Eso dicho, ‘The company report’ no es incorrecto, y en el caso de ‘The book’s writer’ (El libro tiene escritor) tiene que diferenciarse de ‘The book writer’ (Escribe libros, no articulos). Lo mismo pasa con ‘My mother’s photo’ (Es suya) y ‘A photo of my mother’ (Ella sale en la foto).
Lo mejor es hacer lo que has hecho – observar para aprender!