Seemingly wrong sentence

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello,

The other day while browsing a textbook on English grammar at my leisure, I ran into this sentence:

I lost my key, so I cannot leave my apartment now. I will be looking for it.

I think this sentence is wrong. Do you think it warrants correction? Or is it correct?

Thanks !

2

Hi,
I think it should be written like this:
I have lost my key, …
I lost my key yesterday, …
Regards,
Morteza

3

I would correct it to read,
“I have lost my key so I cannot leave my apartment now. I have to look for it.”

4

Thanks, Bev!

5

for me ,it is good to well use tenses.
thanks for those who’ve answered

6

I’d like to offer my two cents if not too intruding. :slight_smile:

I have to look for a/the lost key in my apartment now.

7

Hi Dean (aka Our Tort System)

On the American side of the pond, it would be perfectly acceptable and natural to use the past simple (lost) in such a context.

:slight_smile:
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[size=75]“Lost time is never found again.” ~ Benjamin Franklin[/size]

8

Hello from this side of the pond, Amy =)

And are you happy with “I will be looking for it”?

Thanks!

9

Hehe. No, not particularly. When reading quickly, you get the uncomfortable impression that ‘it’ refers to the apartment. In everyday conversation, however, sentences and paragraphs don’t always have ideal construction, and I’m pretty sure even a fairly dense person would be able to figure out that ‘it’ refers to the lost key.

The use of the future continuous may mean that the speaker has not begun looking for the key yet, OR it may simply be a reference to what the speaker will be doing while the listener is out doing something else.
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[size=75]“For many, immaturity is an ideal, not a defect.” ~ Mason Cooley[/size]

10

Thanks for such an exaustive explanation!
On second thought, even to me ‘it’ seems to refer to the apartment. :slight_smile: