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 ?

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 ?

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!!

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.

Exactly, but try it with "still", in this case "being" would seem necessary, right ?

homosh wrote:
> Exactly, but try it with "still", in this case
> "being" would seem necessary, right ?

no ;' {

homosh wrote:
> Exactly, but try it with "still", in this case
> "being" would seem necessary, right ?

no, it's unnecessary. We already established that.

Ahhh darn it, now I'll never go to a decent uni..

ye...

"Books are still being read by people" implies
"People are still reading books"

Get it now?
You unneccessarily put in the word "being" as it changes the meaning of the sentence.

They're English teachers, tehy've been doing this for years and years and years and probably have a degree in it, so why argue with them?

No, the word "still" implies that an action is still occuring, therefore it is not in the past and it is going on in the present.

And with your case of "used up", that is not the same. In the case of "the water is used up", "used up" is acting as an adjective, as in "the water is brown", so it's not a passive verb.