Re: [文法] ____ it rains, go into the building.

[tijj (my two cents)]

※ 引述《paulchi (paul)》之銘言：
: Despite the heated exchange I enjoyed both sides of the argument. But I am
: not a scholar, and I resent over-analyzing simple, everyday English.
: Central to this argument is the strength, or the degree of certainty contained
: in the adverb 'soon', which in my opinion can be easily clarified with just a
: little elaboration of the original dialogue...
: -----
: Tina: It is raining soon.
: Mary: How do you know?  Maybe it is just cloudy.
: Tina: Just cloudy? Didn't you hear the distant thunder roaring?
: Mary: Nope. I was in the basement.
: Tina: Trust me. It is raining soon. I can smell it in the air.
: Mary: Fine. Let's go take our clothes in WHEN it does.
:       But IF it doesn't, you better see a doctor about your nose.
: -----
: Tina: It is raining tomorrow.
: Mary: How do you know?
: Tina: The forecast said so.
: Mary: pfff. They ain't always right.
: Tina: They are usually right around this time of year.
: Mary: Oh well. I won't go out to jog IF it does then.



Thank you, Paulchi


→ lim10337:I just asked one of my friends from the U.S. He said   02/08 02:19
→ lim10337:there's no such thing as "it's raining soon/tomorrow"  02/08 02:20
推 tengharold:Correction: I'm not sure I can write "it is raining  02/08 03:05
→ tengharold:soon" and make it make sense in a conversation. I    02/08 03:05


3.
I suppose that "It is raining soon" states definitely that rain will fall, so
that the coming rain is not an "if" but a "when."  In conversation, you could
                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
hear either, though..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Nicholas Watson
Professor of English
Harvard University



4.
"It is raining soon" means that it is not yet raining, but will be soon.
Therefore, answer A ("Because") is wrong, since the sentence "Because it
rains, go into the building" implies that it is already raining. Answer C
(If) is wrong, since the sentence "If it rains, go into the building"
suggests that it might rain, whereas you know that it is definitely going to
rain. ANswer D (However) is wrong, because the sentence "However it rains, go
into the building," does not make much sense. Therefore B is the best answer.

James Wood
Professor of the Practice of Literary Criticism
Department of English
Harvard University



5.
B is the only possible answer; the other possibilities produce incorrect
syntax.

James Simpson
Donald P. and Katherine B. Loker Professor of English
Chair
Department of English
Harvard University


--
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◆ From: 210.69.13.1
推 tengharold:Prof. Watson is a bit reserved in endorsing the use
→ tengharold:"I suppose that..."
→ tengharold:I'm a bit surprised that Prof. Wood appears to
→ tengharold:fully accept the usage, makes for an interesting
→ tengharold:development.
→ tengharold:Prof Simpson is answering the "if or when" and not
→ tengharold:addressing the acceptability of the rain sentence.
→ tengharold:So the only big surprise for me is Prof. Wood
→ tengharold:Counting Prof. Watson, I think 1 1/2 profs endorse
→ tengharold:the sentence :p
推 hh47:That is what YOU think.
→ hh47:Professor Watson是講，我可以料想得到…….，儘管if或when
→ hh47:在口語中聽到任一種回答是有可能的。
→ hh47:我是覺得不要為了辯而辯。大學教授不是傻瓜。
→ tengharold:今天考試在考文法，別說人家出文法錯誤的題目來考文法
→ tengharold:絕不應該，就算原句只是在文法上有其爭議性，就不該拿
→ tengharold:來考文法。
→ tengharold:And yes I do think Prof. Watson sounds 'reserved'
→ tengharold:in his endorsement. That's why I said my only real
→ tengharold:surprise was Prof. Simpson's answer.
→ sneak: Professor W https://noxiv.com
→ sneak: 在口語中聽到任一種回答 https://daxiv.com