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Quick question
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magneto
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Quick question
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Hello everyone!
Just a quick question. I �d particularly appreciate the help of some native speakers in this case.
I �ve found the following dialogue in one of my coursebooks.:
"You �re looking miserable."
"I was working on my thesis when my computer suddenly crashed."
Does "you �re looking miserable" sound correct to you in this context?
From a strictly grammatical point of view (...at least strictly grammatical the way I �ve been taught grammar) it sounds wrong to me; I �d use "you look miserable"...But how would it sound to a native speaker?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Have a great day/ evening! 
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14 Oct 2010
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ELOJOLIE274
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I �m no native speaker, but I can tell that this sentence is correct!
in that case, it means "right now, although you seemed fine a few hours ago", if you had put "you look miserable" it would have meant "lately you look miserable" so the answer would have been "yeah... I �ve been feeling depressed since I broke up with my boyfriend"
with V-ing you �re insisting on the fact that it �s not a permanent state, it �s something that is quite new...
have a nice evening!
Elodie
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14 Oct 2010
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Pelletrine
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- you �ve always been taught that it would only be correct to say "I always wear jeans" -Haven �t you?
Well, thats correct.
But, if my grandma says to me "You �re always wearing jeans!" ... I �ll know it doesn �t please her... at all ;o)
Sometimes you you use BE + Ving to show your feelings, whereas, grammatically, you would use a simple present.
So when you hear "you �re looking miserable" : the sentence is not neutral : it shows feelings towards the subject "beeing in this situation"
- hope it helps, sorry no dicoes arround, so, hope a native can confirm. |
14 Oct 2010
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libertybelle
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It probably would sound better is it said:
You �re looking miserable these days - which is more common than your original sentence.
But it is not incorrect.
I agree that You look terrible or you look miserable is more common.
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14 Oct 2010
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magneto
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Thank you all for your quick replies!
Goodnight and hugs from rainy Greece
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14 Oct 2010
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