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Below is a dialogue for English speaking practice. I would like to ask you whether it is okay or what happens if I change some of them as described in there.

W: You can't want to buy that bike.

M: Oh, why not?

W: It looks very unstable.

M: But it's so cheap.

W: I can't see someone riding it safely.

(Question 1. What if "ride" is used instead of "riding" in the above line?)

M: It may turn out to be perfectly fine.

(Question2. What if this sentence is Sentence A or B or C?)

(Sentence A: "It may come out to be perfectly fine.")

(Sentence B: "It may be found perfectly fine.")

(Sentence C: "It may be found to be perfectly fine.")

W: You need to buy a new chain and new tires first.

M: That sounds expensive. I don't want to buy that bike.

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  • 1
    Please take a few minutes to tell us what research you have done, and what you think are the correct answers, and why. That will make it possible to give you a useful answer!
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Aug 26, 2016 at 2:53
  • 1
    Please ask one question at a time. Make a second question for #2.
    – Jim Reynolds
    Aug 26, 2016 at 6:05
  • @P.E.Dant I tried it, but I had no other way to explain the question well more than this. Because my sentences got complicated and dizzy with it. Thank you anyway!
    – Smart Humanism
    Sep 5, 2016 at 17:11
  • @JimReynolds I thought to ask questions in this dialogue using its plot was nice and neat. I thought if I separated them, then they would be a little bit fragmentary. Thank you for the advice.
    – Smart Humanism
    Sep 5, 2016 at 17:14

1 Answer 1

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Answer 1:

"I can't see someone ride it safely."

This is a sentence with a different meaning than the original sentence. The sentence implies the inability of the speaker to see someone ride the bike for some reason, for example if he is blind or in a room without windows. Although word 'see' can have the meaning of 'believe' or 'understand', in the sentence above it has the meaning of vision. You could use instead use one of the following sentences:

"I can't see that someone could ride it safely"

"I can't believe someone could ride it safely"

Answer 2A:

"It may come out to be perfectly fine."

This is an invalid English sentence. As well, 'come out' and 'turn out' have entirely different meanings from each other. 'Come out' is normally used to describe an action by something with volition, such as a person or animal. 'Turn out' in this case describes the end result of a process, such as purchasing a bike.

Answer 2B:

"It may be found perfectly fine."

This is an invalid English sentence. See answer 2C below.

Answer 2C:

"It may be found to be perfectly fine."

This is a valid English sentence. Unfortunately it has a different meaning than:

"It may turn out to be perfectly fine."

'Be found' implies an instant of discovery , and 'turn out' implies a period of time while something changes.

Also, the sentence at the beginning:

"You can't want to buy that bike."

is probably not the best sentence to use here. A sentence closer in meaning for the conversation shown might be:

"You don't want to buy that bike."

The reason using 'can't is a bad idea here is that 'can't' implies the inability to do something (have the feeling of 'want'), while 'don't' instead means that although he doesn't (have the feeling of want) it possible for him to do so.

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  • -1. "It may come out just fine. We'll have to wait and see." The "to be" is awkward in the OP's example, but "come out" is OK.
    – Tᴚoɯɐuo
    Aug 26, 2016 at 9:56
  • @Mark Ripley, Thank you for the kind, delicate answer, so much! I am sorry that I respond to your reply a little bit late. But, I would like to know why Sentence B "It may be found perfectly fine." is invalid. Does "invalid" here mean the sentence is grammatically out of sense? Then, I don't understand it. Because expressions like "I find him nice." is commonly used and the Sentence B is just a passive form of one of those expressions.
    – Smart Humanism
    Sep 5, 2016 at 17:05
  • @TRomano Thank you for the comment. Why "It may come out just fine." is right and "It may come out to be fine." is awkward? Both "fine" in this two sentences are adjectives, right?
    – Smart Humanism
    Sep 5, 2016 at 17:09
  • @SmartHumanism "It may come out to be perfectly fine" and "It may be found perfectly fine" are not "invalid" English sentences, whatever Mr Ripley means by "invalid." This answer is simply wrong. The constructions are not technically ungrammatical, but a native speaker would almost never use them.
    – P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica
    Sep 5, 2016 at 18:07
  • @P.E.Dant Thank you for the answer. :) But what does make native English speakers not use the two expressions? Do you mean that in this situation these would not be used? Or do you mean that these expressions would be almost never used whatsoever?
    – Smart Humanism
    Sep 5, 2016 at 18:17

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