Would you please check my sentences? (Mar.23 version)

[hirashin]

Hello, native English speakers,
If you have time, would you please check my sentences again?

(1a) When the phone rang yesterday evening, I was watching TV.
(1b) I was watching TV when the phone rang yesterday evening.
[Is there a difference in meaning between the two?]

(2a) I'll be here until you come back.
(2b) I'll stay here until you come back.
(2c) I'll be staying here until you come back.
[Do all of them have almost the same meaning? ]

(3a) Look. That plane is going to take off.
(3b) Look. That plane is going to leave.
[Do both have almost the same meaning?]

(4a) I've just been to the nearby post office.
(4b) I've just been to the post office nearby.
[Can both be used?]

(5a) This is the most interesting movie/film (that) I've ever seen.
(5b) This is the most interesting movie/film (that) I've ever seen so far.
(5c) This is the most interesting movie/film (that) I've seen before.
[Would all of them be used? If so, do they have the same meaning?]

(6a) I'm not allowed to help you
(6b) I'm not permitted to help you.
[Do both habe the same meaning?]

(7a) I want you to come here at once.
(7b) I want you to come here immediately.
(7c) I want you to be here at once.
(7d) I want you to be here immediately.
[Would all of them be used?]

(8a) I saw your wife jogging in the park this morning.
(8b) I saw your wife jogging in the park in the morning.

(9a) According to this article, his company was established in 1990, when I was born.
(9b) This article says that his company was established in 1990, when I was born.
[Would (a) and (b) have almost the same meaning?]

(10a) It is said that this Buddhist temple was built in the twelfth century.
(10b) This Buddhist temple is said to have built in the twelfth century.
[Would (a) and (b) have almost the same meaning?]

Thanks in advance.

Hirashin

 

[lanthas]

1. One might say that a) emphasizes the TV and b) emphasizes the phone ringing. But in the end, the meaning is the same.

2. b) and c) are stronger than a): they indicate that you're making a conscious effort of not leaving, while a) shows that you had no plans of leaving in the first place.

3. Not necessarily: a plane can leave in more ways than by taking off. For example, it could be on the way to a hangar. So b) is more general than a).

4. Yes.

5. a) is fine. b) is a bit redundant and unnatural: it's enough to say "the most interesting movie I've seen so far", the meaning is the same as a). c) doesn't work.

6. Yes, though b) is more stiff/formal than a).

7. a) and b) are fine, c) and d) not so much. "I want you to be here" is usually said to express that you miss someone, e.g. a wife calling her husband who's off on a long business trip. She's only expressing her feeling, not actually asking him to cancel his trip and return home.

8. The meaning is slightly different. a) means that you saw her *today*, while b) might have been on any day in the past.
If you're talking about today, I'd suggest to use a) as it's shorter and avoids repeating "in the".

9. 10. Yes, they're exactly the same.

 

[WonkoTheSane]

(10b) This Buddhist temple is said to have built in the twelfth century.

"...have been built..."

 

[hirashin]

Thanks for the help, Lanthas and Wonko. Wonko, do you have almost the same views as Lanthas?
Hirashin

 

[WonkoTheSane]

Thanks for the help, Lanthas and Wonko. Wonko, do you have almost the same views as Lanthas?
Hirashin

Essentially, yes.

7 c and d I disagree very slightly, in that I could hear a supervisor/manager saying them. Though I think it's well into the territory of individual preferences and expectations.