Timeline for "Guys did anyone of you have found my pencil box today in our class?"
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
8 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Apr 30, 2015 at 0:20 | comment | added | ColleenV | And Dave, just to be clear, I'm not criticizing your answer, which I think is fine. The example sentence is just interesting to me. | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 23:44 | comment | added | alephzero | @Keiki "Finding something is usually an intentional act. " Not according to Merriam-Webster: "transitive verb: to come upon, often accidentally". merriam-webster.com/dictionary/find If there is a problem with "find" here, I think it is that you would probably expect to see pencil cases in a classroom, so you wouldn't consider that you had "found" them. On the other hand, if you found a $100 bill lying on the floor, that would be memorable -- but not intentional. | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 22:04 | comment | added | Adam | What makes it odd to me is having the "one" after "any." What is it doing? I am not sure how it helps the meaning, or what connotations it lends here. "Guys, did any of you find my pencil box..." sounds much better to me. "Any one" is better used for something like: "Guys, if any one of you shows up late, then NONE of us will be allowed in the stadium." | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 21:53 | comment | added | Keiki | I think @ColleenV is right. Usually you would use "see". To me, "Did anyone find it today?" feels like something you would say after class if you asked your friends before class if they would look for the pencil box during class, or if everyone had been looking for it for a couple days. Finding something is usually an intentional act. You have to know in advance that you are looking for it. If your friends weren't actively looking for it, they may have happened to see it, but they wouldn't really say they had found it. (Obviously, this isn't a hard rule, just a nuance). | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 21:26 | comment | added | ColleenV | I think you're right - there's something off though and I can't put my finger on it. Maybe it's how specific "in class today" is when looking for something that's lost. "Guys, has anyone seen my pencil case? " seems more natural. | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 21:11 | comment | added | dev_willis | @ColleenV No, not really. I think I would probably phrase it in conversation more like you did but I don't think it's awkward this way. | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 21:01 | comment | added | ColleenV | Does it seem to you that "find" is a little awkward though? If I understand the context, I might say "Guys, did anyone see my pencil case in class today? I've lost it." or "Guys, did any of you pick up my pencil case in class today? I can't find it." | |
| Apr 29, 2015 at 20:45 | history | answered | dev_willis | CC BY-SA 3.0 |