Spencer lu
how can I use 'fail' correctly? I am a little confuse with fail.Can I say 'the payment is failed or the payment failed' which one is correct? Also, Can I say the payment has been failed or not?
Feb 12, 2016 3:15 AM
Answers · 5
2
Hi Spencer, For an English speaker, these phrases would be most natural: "The payment failed." or "The payment has failed." 'The payment has been failed' doesn't sound natural for an English speaker. However, you could use that wording in the context of an exam: 'The student has been failed.' I hope this helps you =)
February 12, 2016
1
I agree with Spencer "The payment failed" or the "The payment has failed". For your second question one could say "Has or has not the payment failed" or "Did or did not the payment fail". Although I would just say, "Has the payment failed" or "Did the payment fail".
February 12, 2016
As a transitive verb, "fail" is pretty much limited to the sense of failing a test or exam (i.e. not succeeding in it). So you can't say the payment was failed. Use "rejected" or "declined" instead in this case. I think it's fine as an intransitive verb, though: "the payment failed". Or colloquially, you could say "didn't work" or "didn't go through".
February 12, 2016
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