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The children did their homework when I got home.

hirashin

Sempai
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8 Apr 2004
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Thank you all for the ongoing help.

I have a further question about (a).

(a)The children did their homework when I got home.

Is this interchangeable with (b) or (c)? Is there any difference in nuance?

(b) The children began to do their homework when I got home.
(c) The children started to do their homework when I got home.

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin
 
(a) suggests that they did all their homework, (b) and (c) suggest that they only started it - maybe they got distracted by the TV after a few minutes. (b) and (c) are interchangeable though.
 
Thanks for the help, Lothor.

Does (a) mean that the children began to do their homework when I got home and finished it ?
 
Probably. When parents say to children 'do your homework', they mean 'do all your homework'.
 
Thanks. The difference between English and our language is so big that literal translation will be useless.
 
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