A strange sentence in English
Hi guys!
I found pretty strange example in the Longman dictionary:
"Why does my card work in one cash machine and not in another?"
Is it correct? If it is correct, why? Can I say: "...and doesn't in another?"
Thanks!
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Answers · 4
1
Both you and the dictionary are 100% correct. If you use your sentence with "doesn't" , it creates more emphasis and emotion, so it gives it a feeling of complaining or anger instead of just asking a question.
1
Here are some more examples to help you understand when you use "not" and when "doesn't" on their own in the second part of a sentence:
", but not..." --> the same subject in both clauses
I've been to Ukraine, but not to Belarus. (Subject: I)
He shared his lunch, but not his dessert. (Subject: he)
It works here, but not there. (Subject: it)
", but ... doesn't" --> the "but"-clause has a different subject
My MasterCard works in this ATM, but my Visa doesn't. (Subjects: MC vs. Visa)
Americans drive on the right hand-side, but Australians don't. (Subjects: Americans vs. Australians)
Consider these two examples:
1) She likes fish, but not seafood. (=she doesn't like seafood)
2) She likes fish, but her husband doesn't. (=her husband doesn't like seafood)
Hope that helped!
1
It is absolutely correct. I don't have an official, linguistic explanation for the ability to drop the verb in the second part, but it certainly doesn't sound strange to me. Other examples:
Peter speaks fluenty in Polish but not in Hungarian.
Why do you object to that candidate but not the other?
1
Hi Siarhei, yes, the dictionary example is correct. We've put the "does" at the beginning of the sentence to provide the question form. We can't replace "not" with "doesn't".
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