Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Very friend

Which is best / correct?
"Peter is very friend of John."
"Peter is very friend of John's."
"Peter is a very friend of John."
"Peter is a very friend of John's."

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Sorry, Enrico, they're all wrong.
You'd have to say "Peter is a very good friend of John's", "Peter is a
great friend of John's", "Peter and John are great/very good friends",
"Peter is John's best friend", or "Peter is very friendly with John".
-- 
Mary

Mary Cassidy ha scritto:
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Cheers! I read some of those patterns on the net so I was in doubt. Never
trust Google ;)
-- 
Enrico C
Reply to: enrico /dot/ c /at\ people \dot\ it
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 trust Google ;)
On the contrary, you should have trusted Google. 
Max

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Not if one makes a bad use of it as I did ;)
I should have compared "very friend" occurrences (just 5.000 or less) to
"great friend" (434.000) or to "good friend"  (over 3.000.000), for
instance.
-- 
Enrico C  /testing Pimmy/
Reply to: enrico /dot/ c /at\ people \dot\ it
--
GIGAMAIL By X-Privat - 
http://www.x-privat.org/gigamail.php

 wrote in message
news:cnknan$kki$1...@newsreader.mailgate.org...
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Or you could say, "Google is the very friend you should have trusted".
:>)
Joe from Massachusetts

 Or you could say, "Google is the very friend you should have trusted".
Joe, that was downright wicked. Little green moving things will emerge
from your underwear :)
Agli italiani: si', "very" si puo' utilizzare come sopra. Quasii (ma
solo quasi) come "il tale" o forse "il vero".
Esempio:
"I think I found the telephone number of that doctor."
"Thanks, that's the very chap."
-- 
"The past resembles the future as water resembles water"  Ibn Khaldun
My .
mac.com
 address is a spam sink.
If you wish to email me, try atlothian at blueyonder dot co dot uk

 instance.
Put not your faith in Princes, nor yet the Son of Man, nor google, in
whom there is no aid.
If the Lord guardeth not the city, the Watchman watcheth in vain.
:)   Nice to be back.
Alan "Dante lover" Lothian
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 Alan "Dante lover" Lothian
And a belated "welcome back" to you. I've perused your site... I assume you
don't deliver to ZIP code 10016... Alas.
Wishing you the best.
-- 
This is my opinion of modern, colloquial, American English. 
If you feel the need to e-mail me, un-not my address first.

 don't deliver to ZIP code 10016... Alas.
Thanks, Joe. We're working on the sub-orbital shuttle: self-heating
lasagne in the re-entry module. Early models burned to a crisp, but
never fear, we'll get there.
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I see what you mean. "the very friend" accounts for 788 occurrences.
 
-- 
Enrico C  /testing Pimmy/
Reply to: enrico /dot/ c /at\ people \dot\ it
--
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That reminds me of a discussion in another thread. Now that you're
talking about my underwear, does this mean we can now "darci del tu"?
:>)
Joe from Massachusetts

 wrote:
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Interesting.  
The default (indeed, the unbroken norm) on this group is dar del tu.
Icling's French language equivalent (although I posted there
occasionally, I can't immediately remember its name: call it
fr.culture.linguistique.anglais) uses vous, even among people who have
clearly been "talking" to each other for years.
I've even even heard French hippies vousvoyer. As for Germans....
Hmm.
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 fr.culture.linguistique.anglais) 
Perhaps fr.lettres.langue.anglaise
-- 
S'i' fosse foco, ardere' il mondo
S'i' fosse foco, ardere' il mondo;
s'i' fosse vento, lo tempestarei;
s'i' fosse acqua, i' l'annegherei;

 s'i' fosse acqua, i' l'annegherei;
Se fosse cane, bau
Se fosse gatto, miao
Se fosse tardi, ciao.
Ciao, FB
-- 
"Are you sure an embryo parson should have a plane?"
"Everyone should have a plane!"
(Cold Comfort Farm, the film)


I was referring to the debate in another thread which discussed the
point at which one should feel comfortable in "tutoyer"-ing someone in
conversation. This might be an indication that one was ready.  :>)
Joe from Massachusetts

 Se fosse tardi, ciao.
I'll reply to your Guzzanti with a Iachetti:
<< Lei gli diceva: "Se tu m'amassi...". Poi gli scriveva: "Se tu
m'amassi...". Gli sussurrava: "Se tu m'amassi...". Lui le rispose: "Ma
no che non t'amasso!".>>
-- 
"Non vuol morire!" "Lesta! 
ché soffre ed ho rimorso! 
Trapassale la testa! 
Ripungila sul dorso!"

 at which one
voila comme on vousvoie en anglais.     (  :))))  )
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