Hernandez
Hi, everyone Would the following sentences sound bad without the pronoun “it” or “mine”(second sentence)? I am not interested in what is considered correct or grammatically acceptable. I just want to know whether or not they sound bad without the pronoun in parentheses? 1) “The citizens fought against this bill, but the senator voted against (it).” 2) “Mary can’t go out without a phone, and I can’t live without (it/mine) Thank you very much!
Mar 10, 2024 11:47 PM
Answers · 4
In the first sentence, I think it would sound unnatural without the "it". Also, since the citizens and the senator are in agreement about the bill, "but" doesn't really fit. In the second sentence, "it" doesn't really work because "it" should refer to something known, not "a phone". To complement "a phone" you could use "one": “Mary can’t go out without a phone, and I can’t live without one either." The "either" makes the sentence feel more complete to me as a way to connect the topic of these two clauses. (You could also end the sentence with "mine either", although I think "one" sounds more natural here since you didn't say "her phone" in the first clause.)
March 11, 2024
Those sentences are absolutely correct when you omit the pronoun. When you do that, you repurpose the preposition as an adverb. So, in the sentence "The senator voted against" against acts as an adverb to modify the verb "voted". The same is true with #2. Although an English word may have a preferred usage, words are often repurposed. For example, nouns can be used as adjectives and vice versa. Likewise many prepositions can be repurposed as adverbs. Be careful when you do this though. You have to be careful lest you be misunderstood. If you do use a preposition in #2, consider using "one".
March 11, 2024
Informally it’s possible for native speakers to ‘vote against’ and ‘live without’ without explicitly stating the direct object, but only if the meaning is very clear from the context. How are you voting? I’m voting against. Do you like having Alexa? I can live without. But some people won’t like it, and if we heard it being said with a foreign accent, we’d likely see it as a sign of weak English.
March 11, 2024
!Hola, Hernadez! To answer your question, yes! It would sound weird if you do not add the pronouns at the end. The English language really relies on having clarity on who or what you are talking about, especially when it comes to the object of the sentence without prior context. I hope my answer was helpful! Buena suerte and I hope you have a wonderful day! ❤️
March 11, 2024
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