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Question1

If we tuck in a bedspread or covers on the corners of the bed and after a while they're sticking out again, what will be a natural way to express it:

The bedspread has come undone.

The bedspread has come out on a corner.

The bedspread has come untucked.

And what about a shirt that had been tucked but now has come undone/untucked?

The shirt has come out.

The shirt has come untucked.

The shirt has come undone.

In the above 6 sentences what will be used :come out/undone/untucked?


Another question(2)

If someone asks someone to untuck his/her shirt, will it be natural to say:

Pull out your shirt.

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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 17:03

2 Answers 2

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Probably "has come undone" or "has come untucked" would work. I'm thinking perhaps that if there's a need to understand that it's at the corner for some reason you could be explicit about that for clarity: "The bedspread came undone at the corner." Since shirts don't have corners, it would just be the shirt or the shirt-tails.

And as for asking one to untuck their shirt, I've almost always heard it as "untuck your shirt". I think if someone said, "Pull out your shirt," it would sound a bit odd to me since it's not usage I'm accustomed to, but I'd likely understand what was meant. Undo your shirt, however, has, to me, a totally different meaning.

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  • Is the use of "come out" unnatural in the case of "bedspread" and "shirt"? Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 15:44
  • So is the use of "come out" natural???? Commented Apr 25, 2019 at 9:48
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It is better to use simpler tenses in English to aid in clarity. Then from there pick the simpler sentence that has all the meaning.

The options you gave are in the Perfect Tense English usage would pick the Past Tense instead.

The bedspread has come undone. --> The bedspread came undone

The bedspread has come out on a corner. --> The bedspread came out of a corner.

The bedspread has come untucked. --> The bedspread is untucked.

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  • And what about a "shirt"? "Your shirt has come out". Does this sound natural? Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 16:21
  • So is the use of "come out" natural? Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 17:23
  • @Vincenzo I have down-voted your answer. It does not address the question and it offers opinions without justification. The choice of tense depends on context and has little bearing on clarity. Commented Apr 24, 2019 at 17:53

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