# describing a mate



## HyphenSpider

Do you mind having a look at this description? Please, pay special attention to the order in which the ideas appear.

*DESCRIBING A MATE*​David is a friend of mine. He is 15 years old, his birthday being in October. He is average height and slim (although I remember he used to be plump). He is very fast and strong, too. As far as his face is concerned, it is oval and quite thin. His eyes are small and brown. He has got short, kind of spiky, black hair. He likes wearing branded clothes, and surely he would never wear anything bought in a market.

He is usually friendly and kind, but he can be a real stick in the mud sometimes. That normally happens because he is too proud. When he is in a good mood, though, we all enjoy listening to his jokes (which are often very good).

David is a lifelong friend. I’ve known him since we were little kids. We didn’t use to be the best of friends, but our friendship grew as time went on. Before I moved from TownA to TownB, we used to meet almost every day and played together for hours. We would go for a walk, have a chat or play PlayStation. The thing is that we never got bored. 
 
 
Thanks!!​


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## mariente

HyphenSpider said:


> Do you mind having a look at this description? Please, pay special attention to the order in which the ideas appear.
> 
> *DESCRIBING A MATE*​David is a friend of mine. He is 15 years old, his birthday beingis in October. He is has an  average height and and he is slim (although I remember he used to be plump). He is very fast and strong too. As far as his face is concerned (yo diría regarding his face), it is oval and quite thin. His eyes are small and brown. He has (got) short, kind of spiky, black hair. He likes wearing branded clothes, and surely he would never wear anything bought in a market.
> 
> He is usually friendly and kind, but he can sometimes be a real stick in the mud sometimes. That normally happens because he is too proud. When he is in a good mood, though, we all enjoy listening to his jokes (which are often very good).
> 
> David is a lifelong friend. I’ve known him since we were little kids. We didn’t use to be the best of friends, but our friendship grew as time went on. Before I moved from TownA to TownB, we used to meet almost every day and played together for hours. We would go for a walk, have a chat or play PlayStation. The thing is that we never got bored.
> 
> 
> Thanks!!​



Tengo una duda yo ahora con respecto a esta oración :
 but our friendship grew as time went on.

Nuestra amistad ha crecido a medida que el tiempo iba pasando
Our frienship has grown as time went by? y bye o by?


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## HyphenSpider

> David is a friend of mine. He is 15 years old, his birthday beingis in October. He is has an average height and and he is slim (although I remember he used to be plump). He is very fast and strong too. As far as his face is concerned (yo diría regarding his face), it is oval and quite thin. His eyes are small and brown. He has (got) short, kind of spiky, black hair. He likes wearing branded clothes, and surely he would never wear anything bought in a market.


 
¿Estás seguro de que "being" está mal? Lo digo porque he encontrado muchos resultados en Google.

En cuanto a "being" o "having" average height, yo juraría que es "being" (_he is average height / he is average weight_)  . ¿Alguien lo puede confirmar?



> He is usually friendly and kind, but he can sometimes be a real stick in the mud sometimes.


 
¿Por qué has cambiado el adverbio de lugar? Aunque por norma general los adverbios de frecuencia vayan entre el auxiliar y el verbo, en este caso concreto no suena mejor al final?



> We didn’t use to be the best of friends


 
No es:

We didn't use _*to be best friends*_.
We didn't use *to be the best of friends*.
???



> Tengo una duda yo ahora con respecto a esta oración :
> but our friendship grew as time went on.
> 
> Nuestra amistad ha crecido a medida que el tiempo iba pasando
> Our frienship has grown as time went by? y bye o by?


 
En este contexto (por lo menos con el significado que yo le quiero dar), el tiempo *debe* ser "past simple", porque la amistad dejó de crecer en algún momento en el *pasado*. Es decir, que ya no está creciendo.

En cuanto a lo de "go by" o "go on", no lo sé. De lo que sí estoy casi seguro es de que *no* es "go bye" (aunque será mejor que esperes otras repuestas).


Muchas gracias por contestar!!


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## heidita

HyphenSpider said:


> ¿Estás seguro de que "being" está mal? Lo digo porque he encontrado muchos resultados en Google.


 
mejor " is of average height", 





> ¿Por qué has cambiado el adverbio de lugar? Aunque por norma general los adverbios de frecuencia vayan entre el auxiliar y el verbo, en este caso concreto no suena mejor al final?


El adverbio está mejor en ese lugar, al final no suena bien.





> No es:
> 
> We didn't use _*to be best friends*_.
> We didn't use *to be the best of friends*.


¿Por qué no pones:
It's not that we were best friends....but...as time went by.





> En este contexto (por lo menos con el significado que yo le quiero dar), el tiempo *debe* ser "past simple", porque la amistad dejó de crecer en algún momento en el *pasado*. Es decir, que ya no está creciendo.


Si pones "grew" da la impresión que David y no es amigo tuyo.
Has grown es mejor.




> David has been a lifelong friend. I’ve known him since we were little kids. We didn’t use to be the best of friends, but our friendship has grown as time went by. Before I moved from TownA to TownB, we used to meet almost every day and played together for hours. We would go for a walk, have a chat or play PlayStation. The thing is that we never got bored.


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## ash93

HyphenSpider said:


> Do you mind having a look at this description? Please, pay special attention to the order in which the ideas appear.
> 
> *DESCRIBING A MATE*​
> David is a friend of mine. He is 15 years old, his birthday being in October. His height is average and he has a slim build (although I remember he used to be plump). He is very fast and strong, too. As far as his face is concerned, it is oval and quite thin. His eyes are small and brown. He has got short, kind of spiky, black hair. He likes wearing branded clothes, and he would never wear anything bought in a market.
> 
> He is usually friendly and kind, but he can be a real stick in the mud sometimes. That normally happens because he is too proud. When he is in a good mood, though, we all enjoy listening to his jokes (which are often very good).
> 
> David is a lifelong friend. I’ve known him since we were little kids. We didn’t use to be best friends but our friendship grew as time went on. Before I moved from TownA to TownB, we used to meet almost every day and played together for hours. We would go for a walk, have a chat or play PlayStation. The thing is that we never got bored. ​
> 
> 
> Thanks!!​


 
The lines in blue are the ones that I have corrected and the one in green is what I think should stay as it is.


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## HyphenSpider

Sorry for being such a pain, but are you completely sure I can't say "he's average height"? And what about "the best of friends"? Google gives *750,000* hits for it  

Thanks for you help,


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## ash93

You're not being a pain. You can write he's average height but it doesn't sound completely right to me. And Google isn't the best place for languages, even english (I say this with experience) The best of friends is ok but best friends is what most people over here use. It's up to you really


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## HyphenSpider

> You can write he's average height but it doesn't sound completely right to me.


 
Ummm... OK.



> The best of friends is ok but best friends is what most people over here use. It's up to you really


 
Ok. Actually "best friends" sounds better to me, too. I just wanted to make sure "the best of friends" wasn't wrong.

Just one more question... This one in Spanish lol:

¿Qué diferencia hay entre "plump" y "chubby"? Puede ser que...

*Plump*: Una forma suave de decir *gordo*, aunque hablando de peso sería lo mismo que *fat*.
*Chubby*: No muy gordo, rellenito; hablando de peso, sería menos que plump.
Es eso la diferencia? Que "a plump person" pesa más que "a chubby person"?

Muchas gracias!!


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## mariente

HyphenSpider said:


> ¿Estás seguro de que "being" está mal? Lo digo porque he encontrado muchos resultados en Google.
> 
> En cuanto a "being" o "having" average height, yo juraría que es "being" (_he is average height / he is average weight_)  . ¿Alguien lo puede confirmar?
> 
> Yor are an age--> you are 21 years old
> You turn years--> cumples años
> Your birthday is in October--> tu cumpleaños es en octubre.
> 
> ¿Por qué has cambiado el adverbio de lugar? Aunque por norma general los adverbios de frecuencia vayan entre el auxiliar y el verbo, en este caso concreto no suena mejor al final?
> No
> He always go to the cinema
> He often goes to the movies.
> He usually goes to the movies
> Ahí es donde va.
> ---------
> Height--> sustantivo--> altura
> tall--> alto
> Si hablás de que alguien tiene una altura promedio, he has an avegarage height, ya que el no es una altura promedio, sino que tiene una altura promedio, por eso--> he has an average height. Yo realmente nunca escuche que alguien fuera una altura promedio, sino que tuviera una altura promedio, pero si estas tan seguro a lo mejor es una expresión idiomatica que desconozco
> 
> 
> 
> No es:
> 
> We didn't use _*to be best friends*_.
> We didn't use *to be the best of friends*.
> ???
> 
> Si queres decir los mejores amigos, best of friends nunca lo escuché, pero best friends esta correcto sin lugar a dudas
> 
> 
> En este contexto (por lo menos con el significado que yo le quiero dar), el tiempo *debe* ser "past simple", porque la amistad dejó de crecer en algún momento en el *pasado*. Es decir, que ya no está creciendo.
> 
> En cuanto a esto que decís, la duda también fue mia asi que no puedo contestar. El tema es que vos creciste y esa accion tiene consecuencias en el presente, ya que seguís crecido, no te achicaste ni retrocidiste ni nada. Así que creo que iria mejor has grown
> 
> En cuanto a lo de "go by" o "go on", no lo sé. De lo que sí estoy casi seguro es de que *no* es "go bye" (aunque será mejor que esperes otras repuestas).
> 
> 
> Muchas gracias por contestar!!


 
UNa duda mia ahora: no veo por qué we werent *the* best best friends esté mal. A mi me da la sensanción que en este caso el "the" puede ir perfectamente, a mí me suena bien. Si esta mal por favor expliquen por qué. Gracias


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## HyphenSpider

I'm sorry, but I still disagree on some of your corrections. Can anyone move this to "English Only", please? There might be someone there who can clear this up...


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## heidita

¿Por qué no pones tus dudas en English only? Ya sabes que en _English only_ no se admite ni _proof reading_ ni español. Entonces este hilo no sería admitido. Así que pon las preguntas que más te interesen. 
Yo personalmente puse hace poco lo de "the best" y el 90% de los nativos opinaron que mejor sin artículo.


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## HyphenSpider

Es verdad, no me había dado cuenta. Mañana publico las preguntas en inglés. Por cierto, ¿qué es proof reading? ¿La redacción entera?

Gracias por el aviso. Salu2!


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## Pliscapoivre

Hi all,

Some interesting questions here!

It's absolutely correct to say "the best of friends." Yes, "best friends" is a more common expression, but "the best of friends" has a more subtle meaning. It's often used in a negative expression, as in: "We weren't exactly the best of friends," meaning that there might have been some tension between people. It's just fine to say it this way. However, it's not correct to write "we didn't use to be." This phrase must be written "we used to be," and frankly, I don't believe that it's ever truly correct to use it in a negative context such as "we didn't use(d) to be."

About "average height:" you need to simply add "of." "He is of average height." "He is of slim build." That's perfectly idiomatic, and no one would think it odd.

"As far as his face is concerned --" this is a bit strange to me. I would say "As for his face, ..." or simply "His face is oval..."

"His birthday being in October" is correct, technically, but it's a rare construction. You might more commonly see "He is 15 (his birthday is in October)." Or "Born in October 1991, he is 15." 

Hasta luego,
Pliscapoivre


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## heidita

Para mirar lo de "concerning his face" que no me gustaba, mira *aquí.*


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## elpoderoso

I would say he is _of _average height.


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## Reina140

elpoderoso said:


> I would say he is _of _average height.


 
Estoy acuerdo con OF average height y tambie'n dir'ia "Brand-name clothes" en vez de "branded clothes"


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## HyphenSpider

¿Cómo es "_as *for* his face, it is_..." o "_as *to* his face, it is_..."?

Gracias,


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## elpoderoso

the first is better, ''as for his face''


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## ash93

I would say 'as for his face'


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## heidita

elpoderoso said:


> I would say he is _of _average height.


Thank you!!! That's what I said from the beginning...


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## elpoderoso

Sorry i must have missed it in your post, but i see it now.


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## lunamia

*DESCRIBING A MATE*​David is a friend of mine. He is 15 years old, his birthday is in October. He is of average height and slim (although I remember he used to be plump). He is fast and strong. His face is oval and quite thin. His eyes are small and brown. He has short, kind of spiky, black hair. He likes wearing branded (? designer) clothes. He would never wear anything bought in a market (? department store, flea market).

He is usually friendly and kind, but he can sometimes be a real stick in the mud. That normally happens because he is too proud. When he is in a  happy (otherwise good - good is redundant) mood I enjoy listening to his jokes, which are often very good.


David is a lifelong friend. I’ve known him since we were little kids. We didn’t use to be the best of friends, but our friendship grew as time went on. We used to meet almost every day and stay together for hours. We would go for a walk, have a chat or play PlayStation. The thing is that we never got bored. ​ 
-una más

 
 
​


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## ash93

lunamia said:


> He is 15 years old, his birthday is in October.  ​


 
Sorry but I think " his birthday being in October" sounds fine as it is.


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## elpoderoso

ash93 said:


> Sorry but I think " his birthday being in October" sounds fine as it is.


I disagree, his birthday is in october makes sense.


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## Reina140

Estoy de acuerdo con elpoderoso otra vez.


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## ash93

Sorry if I didn't make myself clear earlier. I meant



elpoderoso said:


> I disagree, his birthday is in october makes sense.


 makes sense but "his birthday being in October" sounds fine as it is - it's not wrong to say it nor is it wrong to say the other one.


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## lunamia

ash93 said:


> Sorry if I didn't make myself clear earlier. I meant
> 
> 
> makes sense but "his birthday being in October" sounds fine as it is - it's not wrong to say it nor is it wrong to say the other one.


 
The phrase is not wrong when used in the right context. However, 'being in October' is a way of refering to another event that happens in October to which this birthday is somehow related. There is no such event mentioned. It is not grammatically correct.


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