need help please ...correct them
1- I had to pay . How would you have behaved if you were in my situation ? 2- It is really good to help someone with his financial problems if you are able to .
1. I had to pay. What would have done if you had been in my position/situation? (3rd conditional)
2. This is difficult because there is not a word for "he or she" or "his or her" in English so often people use "he" for "he or she" and his" to say "his or her" (example: the bible!). BUT in modern english this is considered sexist so people now say "they" for "he or she" and "their" for "him or her". So your sentence is "less sexist" when it is phrased like this:
It is really good to help someone with their financial problems if you are able to.
Another way to improve this sentence (there is nothing wrong with the way it is) is to use "when" instead of "if":
"It is really good to help someone with their financial problems when you are able to."
|link||answered Mar 14 '13 at 02:05 Danielle Minkler Contributor|
If you say just "able" without "to" it sounds more like a physical capacity to do something. "I am going to walk to the store because I am able." (which would mean I can use both of my legs)... Whereas "I am going to walk to the store because I am able to." (which could mean you have enough time, the store is walking distance, or any number of reasons why- but not necessarily because you are physically capable). The difference is actually quite arbitrary, but as an English teacher, I see a slight difference in implied meaning.
|link comment||answered Mar 18 '13 at 17:20 Danielle Minkler Contributor|
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