I've made/ what amends
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Message de ztatyan posté le 27-07-2018 à 12:23:06 (S | E | F)
Hello,
In Agatha Christie's "Ordeal by Innocence" we read:
I've made what amends I can.
The person saying this is a professor, so it should be correct English, but the construction seems odd. First, shouldn't he say "I could" instead of "I can"? And most important, is "what amends I can" proper English, or some vulgar expression? "The amends I can" sounds more regular to me, am I right?
Thanks in advance
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Modifié par lucile83 le 27-07-2018 13:31
Message de ztatyan posté le 27-07-2018 à 12:23:06 (S | E | F)
Hello,
In Agatha Christie's "Ordeal by Innocence" we read:
I've made what amends I can.
The person saying this is a professor, so it should be correct English, but the construction seems odd. First, shouldn't he say "I could" instead of "I can"? And most important, is "what amends I can" proper English, or some vulgar expression? "The amends I can" sounds more regular to me, am I right?
Thanks in advance
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Modifié par lucile83 le 27-07-2018 13:31
Réponse : I've made/ what amends de jade77, postée le 27-07-2018 à 13:59:23 (S | E)
Hi,
"I've made what amends I can"
It's ok, a regular English.
"What" with the sens of "any", "whichever", "whatever" (it's an adjective here)
"I can" is correct, since you have a present perfect tense in your sentence.
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