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Does these (in the quotation) sound natural?

 
 
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 07:51 am

I am not sure whether the parts in bold are proper in grammar. Should "are safe" be "were safe" and "a truth" be just "truth"?

The quotation:
Quote:
In the past two decades, (almost all) Americans have been reassured that GMF (genetically modified food) are safe and they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.
Has the expert told a truth? Or has he lied?
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Type: Question • Score: 6 • Views: 706 • Replies: 11

 
View best answer, chosen by oristarA
McTag
  Selected Answer
 
  2  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 10:16 am
@oristarA,

"Are safe" is correct here.

(The claim is: they were safe in the past, they are safe now, and they will continue to be safe. So choose the present tense.)

Has the expert told THE truth? (A general term, meaning truthfulness in all he was saying. Don't confuse it with "a truism".)
0 Replies
 
McTag
 
  3  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 10:24 am
@oristarA,

Quote:
Does these (in the quotation)


Do these, or does this....
0 Replies
 
OmSigDAVID
 
  2  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 10:40 am
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:


I am not sure whether the parts in bold are proper in grammar. Should "are safe" be "were safe" and "a truth" be just "truth"?

The quotation:
Quote:
In the past two decades, (almost all) Americans have been reassured that GMF (genetically modified food) are safe and they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.
Has the expert told a truth? Or has he lied?

modified food) IS safe
0 Replies
 
contrex
 
  2  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 11:23 am
Quote:
Has the expert told a truth?


told the truth?
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contrex
 
  1  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 11:25 am
@oristarA,
oristarA wrote:


Should [...] "a truth" be just "truth"?



No. See above.

0 Replies
 
PUNKEY
 
  1  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 12:40 pm
. . . that GMF (genetically modified food) are safe and that they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.

contrex
 
  1  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 01:59 pm
@PUNKEY,
PUNKEY wrote:

. . . that GMF (genetically modified food) are safe and that they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.




You can't say "food are safe". This has already been pointed out. You can't say "snow are cold" or "fire are hot" for the same reason.

PUNKEY
 
  1  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 02:05 pm
@contrex,
Yes, it should be "is safe."

I added another "that" to the second clause of the sentence .

have been reassured
that GMF (genetically modified food) is safe
and
that they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.


McTag
 
  2  
Reply Mon 23 Dec, 2013 03:06 pm
@PUNKEY,
Quote:
that GMF (genetically modified food) is safe


But you can say that GMF (genetically modified foods) are safe.

The plural works equally well here. But you must be consistent; the verb must agree with the subject.
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oristarA
 
  1  
Reply Tue 24 Dec, 2013 12:40 am
Thank you guys.

Now the edited version is:

In the past two decades, (almost all) Americans have been reassured that GMF (genetically modified food) is safe and they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.
Has the expert told the truth? Or has he told a lie?

Three questions remain:

1) "In the past two decades" looks a bit awkward to me. But how to improve?
2) "for twenty years" looks not very well there.
3) I changed "has he lied" into "has he told a lie", in an effort to look better matched with "told the truth." But I am not sure whether it got improved.
0 Replies
 
PUNKEY
 
  2  
Reply Tue 24 Dec, 2013 09:00 am
Right now you have a simple compound sentence:

Americans have been reassured that GMF (genetically modified food) is safe
and
they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.

If you want to say that they have been assured TWO things, then you need another "that" in the second clause (and that they have been eating . . . .)

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"In the past two decades" is redundant. You already talk about 20 years later in the sentence.

Why say ("almost all?) Why not use many or most?

You could try:
Most Americans have been reassured that GMF - genetically modified food - is safe and should realize that they have been eating GMF safely for twenty years.
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