strange things

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Tukanja
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strange things

Post by Tukanja »

Dear teachers

I visited a site. Native English speaking forum boards.
Here are a few sentences whose grammar I don't understand.
I've got that it is a bit Irish Hiberno-English but bit not as well..

A:
It's so the can charge government depts extra for the "new language"
Please explain this in bold.
Hiberno-English is quite different from what they speak over in England.

For a start , especially the start of words, we don't get mixed up with 'f' and 's' and don't drop 'h'

at the other end of the scale we have a lot more Nobel prizes for literature per capita than other English speaking countries

B:
There have only been three, and two of them ****ed off out of Ireland the first chance they got. This in bold as well.

C:
aren't you forgetting George Bernard Shaw ?

D:
No, I'm including him as he emigrated to London before he started writing. I'm 'forgetting' Seamus Heaney as he's from the UK.
Should he have used had emigrated instead or I don't understand grammar or it is a new kind of grammar I haven't heard about?

Do native English speakers care for proper grammar actually?

Thanks
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Joe
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Re: strange things

Post by Joe »

A: It is so that they can charge government departments extra for the "new language".

I think someone missed the y on they. Maybe a sticky keyboard :roll:

Dept is a common abbreviation for department.
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Joe
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Re: strange things

Post by Joe »

B: There have been only three (Nobel prize winners)...
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Tukanja
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Re: strange things

Post by Tukanja »

There have only been three, and two of them ****ed off out of Ireland the first chance they got.

Please explain how it is possible that the present perfect is used to describe an event that had happened before the two actions in the simple past.

I thought the past perfect should have been used.

Was the clause "There have only been three" used just to point to indefinite past after which the speaker continue with the past simple.

Is it maybe about informal English or American or Irish English, maybe?

Please don't be so shy with words.

Thanks
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