A man was at Gap store. He was about going to /was going to pay for his items,and then saw a look-alike counter.

1)He asked a sales clerk if he could pay the items here.

2)He asked a sales clerk, 'Can I pay my jeans here?'

Are the questions above correct?

Thank you

A man was at the Gap. He was about to/was going to pay for his items when he saw another counter with nobody checking out.

1) He asked the cashier if he could pay for his items there.

2) He asked the cashier, "Can I pay for my jeans here?"

Richard

Thank you very much, Richard

quote:

when he saw another counter with nobody checking out.

1)Does 'when' mean at the same time?

2)Is 'checking' a present participle, which modifies 'nobody'?

3)Can I say: when he saw another counter with nobody who is checking out.

4)I cannot figure out why I cannot use 'and then' above. I meant he was about to pay for the times first. Then he saw another counter.

He was about to pay for his items,and then he saw another counter with nobody checking out.

5)Can I say below?

He was about to pay for his items, when he saw another counter, which nobody was checking out.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: welkins2139,

1) Yes, it means "at that time/moment" in this case.

2) It's really an ellipted phrase that contains the relative pronoun (who or that) and the auxiliary part of the past progressive (was): with nobody who/that was checking out.

3) I actually answered this in No. 2, but notice the problem you've created here: you have the first verb in the past (saw) and then you jump into the present (is checking out). Obviously that's wrong. It needs to be kept in the past.

4) Saying and then really means what happened next or what happened afterwards, so it's really not appropriate here. What you mean in this case is "At the same time that he was about to pay for his items,..." That's why it's better to use when.

Here's an example of how you could use and then in this story:

He paid for his items, and then he left the store and started walking home.

5)

quote:

He was about to pay for his items, when he saw another counter, which nobody was checking out.

Let's discuss why the relative clause doesn't make sense the way you have it here.

Which is the relative pronoun that refers to another counter. In the relative clause it's the direct object of the verb check out, which means "pay for." So what you're really saying here is that he saw another counter that nobody was paying for." Of course you can understand now why it doesn't work: nobody was paying for the counter?

So to fix this problem, we need to make it clear that you're really talking about the place where customers pay for items, and you should say

... when he saw another counter, which nobody was checking out at because customers check out at a counter.

I hope I've answered all your questions clearly, my friend.
Richard

quote:

3) I actually answered this in No. 2, but notice the problem you've created here: you have the first verb in the past (saw) and then you jump into the present (is checking out). Obviously that's wrong. It needs to be kept in the past

Thank you very much, Richard.

It seems it is incorrigble for me. I dont know why I keep making that mistake.

''This West is no joke,'' Boston's Kevin Garnett said. ''I said it before the trip that it's going to be a test, and that's what it's become.''

1)Is the bold a noun phrase, which modifies it?

2)Why are the main verb 'said' and another one in the quotation?

3)Should a period come after Garnett?

Thank you

This message has been edited. Last edited by: welkins2139,

1) Yes, Welkins, except the only part in bold that modifies it is that it's going to be a test.

The sentence is not punctuated well, by the way. It should be

"I said it before the trip, that it's going to be a test, and that's what it's become."

OR

"I said it before the trip, that it's going to be a test -- and that's what it's become."

2) If I understand your question correctly, the answer is simply because everything between the quotation marks is what Kevin Garnett said.

3) The end of the sentence is after said, not after Garnett, so the period is in the right place.

Richard

Thank you very much, Richard

I said it before the trip that it's going to be a test, and that's what it's become.

If the verb in the past or past perfect tense, the verb in the noun clause is generally (though not invariable in the past or past perfect tense--from English Made Simple.

Why is that the main verb in the past tense, but the subordinate clause verbs are future tenses?

An interesting question, my friend!

When Garnett says "it's going to be a test," he's quoting himself, Welkins, so he's using the exact words he used at that time. When you give a quotation, even one of your own, you use the exact words that were said at that moment, so when he originally said this, it really was the future for him. That's why it still appears as the future since he was quoting his exact words at that time.

Remember that this isn't indirect speech, which allows you to modify the verb forms. This is direct speech, which means you must use the exact words that the speaker originally said.

Richard