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I wrote:

Your sentences are almost good, just tried to offer better alternatives.

To mean "I just tried". Does my sentence conveys the subject is "I" in spoken language?

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    In informal, spoken language, people will sometimes omit the subject, but you should not do this in writing unless you are quoting someone or you know exactly what you are doing and are doing it as a conscious stylistic choice. The sentence would also be better written using a semicolon (;) because you're expressing two sentences ("Your sentences are almost good" and "just tried to offer better alternatives") and we use a semicolon to join independent clauses, which is what those are.
    – stangdon
    Nov 9, 2015 at 12:37

1 Answer 1

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In certain types of writing, for example:

  • texts on phones, diaries, informal emails, notes to friends, notes to ourselves, tweets, comments on Stack Exchange

... we often don't have a lot of space or a lot of time. It is common in these types of writing to drop the Subject - and the auxiliary verb too - if the reader can easily understand who the Subject is. Very often, but not always, the Subject is the speaker. Usually we understand from the context.

  • Loved the talk! Going to see your next one too.
  • Your essay was v good. Should have given more detail though :)
  • Can't talk right now. In a meeting!
  • Doing my session tomorrow in the end!
  • Finished my lessons now! Come and get me!

These sentences mean:

  • I Loved the talk! I am Going to see your next one too.
  • Your essay was v good. You should have given more detail though :)
  • I Can't talk right now. I am In a meeting!
  • I am Doing my session tomorrow in the end!
  • I have finished my lessons now. Come and get me!

Notice that in the second example, the Subject is you, not I. Also notice that the auxiliaries be and have are missing from some of these examples too.

This is sometimes called diary drop by linguists.

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