Timeline for Is this the right way to use "wouldn't"?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 13, 2013 at 4:42 | comment | added | Sven Yargs | The one place where I have seen constructions of the form "Would not they have done X" is in letters to the editor, where the writer is trying to sound formal (hence, no contractions) and back-transforms "wouldn't" (or some similar contraction) in place, without reordering it appropriately, as Edwin Ashworth demonstrates in his answer. The problem for these letter-to-the-editor writers comes down to not knowing what sounds right once the natural contracted form that they normally use is off the table. | |
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:46 | review | First posts | |||
| Nov 13, 2013 at 4:49 | |||||
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:37 | comment | added | Josh Powell | Hmm very interesting, it must just be an accepted slang I suppose but very interesting none the less! | |
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:34 | comment | added | ApproachingDarknessFish | @JoshPowell I don't know if it's technically correct, but I often hear sentences with that structure in everyday conversation. You're certainly right that it doesn't make sense when you break it apart. | |
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:32 | vote | accept | Josh Powell | ||
| Nov 13, 2013 at 4:31 | |||||
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:32 | comment | added | Josh Powell | Fantastic! The last one does sound so much better but the middle one I first wrote is actually semi correct? It just doesn't make any sense if you brake it apart. | |
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:31 | vote | accept | Josh Powell | ||
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:32 | |||||
| Nov 12, 2013 at 21:27 | history | answered | ApproachingDarknessFish | CC BY-SA 3.0 |