Viewing Thread:
"Question to anyone who speaks English !"

Yesterday was my English exam, and there was a question that I disagreed on with all the English teachers in the school, so in order to know the exact correct answer, the best thing to do is to ask British people (I am Egyptian by the way). This is the question:

Begin the following phrase with the word "Books", so that it would give the same meaning:
-People still read books.

My answer: Books are still being read by people.
The teachers' answer: Books are still read by people.

There are only 2 students in the school that wrote my answer: Me and my friend, and we're both the best English students in the school. And I mean the BEST, there is no one else in the school that can be compared to us. While on the other hand, all 3 English teachers in the school say that the correct answer is the other one, so ?

Look, you're obviously good at English as proved by your writings on here and it was one question on an exam. If you're as good as you say you are and you appear to be, you'll be fine. So stop arguing with native speakers.

That's the point. It's showing that it's happening at that time, but that's not what we wanted in the first statement..

Try the first statement without "still".

Books are read by people
Books are being read by people

The first one implies that "people read books"
The second one implies that: "people are reading books"

DIFFERENCE!!

I think I know why it doesn't make sense to me. When I say "is read" that means that the books have already been "read" in the past. It's like when you say "is used up", that means that something has already been used up, so you should say "is being used up" to indicate that it continues to happen, and that it hasn't ended yet, and that's why they put the word "Still", so without the word still, "are still read" would be correct, but putting "still" requires "being", right or what ?

homosh wrote:
> Well, some how without being, it doesn't make sense to me, and the
> same with my friend..

It makes more sense without it. It's not technically wrong, but adding in extra unnecessary words just serves to make the sentence more ambiguous.

And I'm the best at English in my school too!!

It makes perfect sense without the word "being". In english you don't always need the passive form of "to be" to make something passive.

gerrid wrote:
> homosh wrote:
> When you say "I am being abused", it doesn't mean that it
> is
> happening right now.
>
> No, but try that sentence without the word "being" and see
> where it gets you

Ah, but you would say "I am being absued" because it is something that happens to you in the present. It doesn't have to be happening as you say it. If a strange one abused me every night, I would say to someone "I am being abused", because it would let them know that it IS happening so they could help me.

I am the best in my school.

That's becuase you aren't the BEST at English! unlucky!

Well, some how without being, it doesn't make sense to me, and the same with my friend..

homosh wrote:
> When you say "I am being abused", it doesn't mean that it is
> happening right now.

But it CAN imply it.

You say "I am abused", and people will know that someone abuses you.