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"tell sb be doing" construction is right??

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by MinnieLiu » Wed Oct 09, 2013 1:46 am
from Manhanten SC:
Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo,but I could tell Samantha wasn't smiling.
In my opinion,correct the sentence like this:
but I could tell Samantha not to smile.
So,is there anyone could tell me why the first construction is right?
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by theCodeToGMAT » Wed Oct 09, 2013 2:00 am
MinnieLiu, if you change the sentence to:

Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo, but I could tell Samantha not to smile.

- the second clause "i could..smile" has gone awkward..
- Also, the meaning has completely changed... It seems that you are telling Samantha to not to smile.
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by vinay1983 » Wed Oct 09, 2013 3:41 am
MinnieLiu wrote:from Manhanten SC:
Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo,but I could tell Samantha wasn't smiling.
In my opinion,correct the sentence like this:
but I could tell Samantha not to smile.
So,is there anyone could tell me why the first construction is right?
Understand the meaning being conveyed here.The photo was blurry, but you could make out that she was not smiling.
Your version

Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo,but I could tell Samantha not to smile. Here I feel you are making a suggestion to Samantha not to smile. You cannot tell a person in photograph not to smile.(No offence) But this is what your sentence conveys! It is wrong and akward.
You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to!
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by MinnieLiu » Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:04 am
Thanks.Now I understand the meaning,the second sentence is "I could tell (that) Samantha wasn't smiling",right?
vinay1983 wrote:
MinnieLiu wrote:from Manhanten SC:
Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo,but I could tell Samantha wasn't smiling.
In my opinion,correct the sentence like this:
but I could tell Samantha not to smile.
So,is there anyone could tell me why the first construction is right?
Understand the meaning being conveyed here.The photo was blurry, but you could make out that she was not smiling.
Your version

Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo,but I could tell Samantha not to smile. Here I feel you are making a suggestion to Samantha not to smile. You cannot tell a person in photograph not to smile.(No offence) But this is what your sentence conveys! It is wrong and akward.
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by MinnieLiu » Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:15 am
I probably know the meaning now,there is a word that omitted after the word tell ,right?
theCodeToGMAT wrote:MinnieLiu, if you change the sentence to:

Samantha's face looked blurry in the photo, but I could tell Samantha not to smile.

- the second clause "i could..smile" has gone awkward..
- Also, the meaning has completely changed... It seems that you are telling Samantha to not to smile.
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by theCodeToGMAT » Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:33 am
MinnieLiu wrote:I probably know the meaning now,there is a word that omitted after the word tell ,right?
"that" would have been better.. but sometimes, the usage is skipped;it depends upon the meaning.
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by vinay1983 » Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:43 am
MinnieLiu wrote:Thanks.Now I understand the meaning,the second sentence is "I could tell (that) Samantha wasn't smiling",right?
vinay1983 wrote:
Understand the meaning being conveyed here.The photo was blurry, but you could make out that she was not smiling.Original Meaning


Your version tells that you are making a suggestion to Samantha not to smile. You cannot tell a person in photograph not to smile.
You can, for example never foretell what any one man will do, but you can say with precision what an average number will be up to!
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