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Joining of sentences

 
 
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 08:56 am
He took a bite of the cake. He threw the cake away.

In joining the sentences, which of the following sentences is correct?

1. He took a bite and threw the cake away.

2. He took a bite of the cake and threw it away.

Thanks in advance.
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Type: Question • Score: 2 • Views: 792 • Replies: 10
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JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 09:55 am
@tanguatlay,
Quote:
He took a bite of the cake. He threw the cake away.

In joining the sentences, which of the following sentences is correct?

1. He took a bite and threw the cake away.

2. He took a bite of the cake and threw it away.


Both are correct, Ms Tan, though there is some potential for confusion.
0 Replies
 
Quincy
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 11:00 am
@tanguatlay,
The second sentence is better. In the first sentence 'He took a bite and threw the cake away' this should strictly be interpreted as 'He took a bite the cake and threw the cake away' which is nonsense, but obviously no one will interpret this way, so it is maybe a small mistake. The second sentence 'He took a bite of the cake and threw it away' is fine because 'it' means 'the cake' so the sentence means 'He took a bite of the cake and threw the cake away'. But a better way to join the sentences would be 'He took a bite of the cake then threw it away.
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 11:25 am
@Quincy,
He took a bite of the cake. He threw the cake away.

1. He took a bite and threw the cake away.

2. He took a bite of the cake and threw it away.

================================

Quote:
The second sentence is better. In the first sentence 'He took a bite and threw the cake away' this should strictly be interpreted as 'He took a bite the cake and threw the cake away' which is nonsense, but obviously no one will interpret this way, so it is maybe a small mistake.


How could other possibilities be nonsense, Quincy? It's certainly conceivable that a chef, angered by a student's attempts at baking a cake, chucked the whole cake.

Quote:
The second sentence 'He took a bite of the cake and threw it away' is fine because 'it' means 'the cake' so the sentence means 'He took a bite of the cake and threw the cake away'.


Don't you think this is an assumption too large?

He took a bite and threw it away.

In the sentence above, does this mean the bite or the whole cake?

Quote:
But a better way to join the sentences would be 'He took a bite of the cake then threw it away.


These types of sentences are commonly expressed in speech and it often makes little difference even if the listener[s] never know whether "it" was the bite or the whole cake.

To make it perfectly clear, the speaker could/might eschew any pronoun use and spell it out.
Quincy
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 01:41 pm
@JTT,
JTT wrote:

Quote:
The second sentence is better. In the first sentence 'He took a bite and threw the cake away' this should strictly be interpreted as 'He took a bite the cake and threw the cake away' which is nonsense, but obviously no one will interpret this way, so it is maybe a small mistake.


How could other possibilities be nonsense, Quincy? It's certainly conceivable that a chef, angered by a student's attempts at baking a cake, chucked the whole cake.


I'm sorry, I don't understand. Please explain this further. It is nonsense to say 'He took a bite the cake...'.

Quote:
Quote:
The second sentence 'He took a bite of the cake and threw it away' is fine because 'it' means 'the cake' so the sentence means 'He took a bite of the cake and threw the cake away'.


Don't you think this is an assumption too large?

He took a bite and threw it away.

In the sentence above, does this mean the bite or the whole cake?


In 'He took a bite and threw it away' 'it' means 'bite', so he threw the bite away. I said 'He took a bite of the cake and threw it away' is fine because 'it' means 'the cake', the difference between your sentence and mine is clear to me.

Quote:
Quote:
But a better way to join the sentences would be 'He took a bite of the cake then threw it away.


These types of sentences are commonly expressed in speech and it often makes little difference even if the listener[s] never know whether "it" was the bite or the whole cake.

To make it perfectly clear, the speaker could/might eschew any pronoun use and spell it out.
[/quote]

I'm not sure what point you are trying to make.
laughoutlood
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 07:09 pm
@tanguatlay,
how about

he took a bite, eschewed, then hurled it hence
0 Replies
 
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 08:58 pm
@Quincy,
Quote:
I'm sorry, I don't understand. Please explain this further. It is nonsense to say 'He took a bite the cake...'.


That's not what the original said. If in my posts I've been responsible for a typo, I apologize.

Quote:
In 'He took a bite and threw it away' 'it' means 'bite', so he threw the bite away. I said 'He took a bite of the cake and threw it away' is fine because 'it' means 'the cake', the difference between your sentence and mine is clear to me.


Why does 'it' mean the cake?

Quote:
I'm not sure what point you are trying to make.


I'm guessing that you refer to my suggestion that the speaker eschew a pronoun. Here's what I meant.

He took a bite of the cake and then he threw the bite away.

He took a bite of the cake and then he threw the cake away.





laughoutlood
 
  1  
Reply Thu 14 Oct, 2010 09:20 pm
@JTT,
pretty soon everyone started throwing cakes
0 Replies
 
Quincy
 
  1  
Reply Fri 15 Oct, 2010 10:51 am
Don't be difficult JTT.


Quote:
He took a bite of the cake. He threw the cake away.

In joining the sentences, which of the following sentences is correct?

1. He took a bite and threw the cake away.

2. He took a bite of the cake and threw it away.


Which dismisses much of what you have written.
JTT
 
  1  
Reply Fri 15 Oct, 2010 11:18 am
@Quincy,
That's the problem, Quincy, language is difficult. And even more so for ESL/EFLs.

Quote:
Which dismisses much of what you have written.


I don't mean to be difficult, Wink but I don't understand what you mean.
0 Replies
 
McTag
 
  1  
Reply Fri 15 Oct, 2010 01:26 pm

It's clearer if you say,

"He took a bite out of the cake and threw the rest away." Or,

"He took a bite of the cake, and threw the rest of it away."

What a waste of a nice cake.
0 Replies
 
 

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