how to express sorrow or grieve

[bridge78]

I would like to "upgrade" the following sentence: "Do not be sad that it is over". Are any of the following sentences correct? Which one would be the best? I am a bit confused about which preposition to use when, amongst others.

-Don’t be grieved by it being over
-Don’t grieve for what it was
-Don’t be brokenhearted about it being over
-Don’t be mournful/sorrowful about it being over,
-Don’t be grieved by the lost moments,
-Don’t grieve over the lost moments

 

[emsr2d2]

None of them are sentences. A sentence can end only with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. Yours all end with nothing or a comma.

 

[Phaedrus]

I would like to "upgrade" the following sentence: "Do not be sad that it is over".

Here's an idiomatic alternative (not necessarily an upgrade): "Don't let its being over get you down."

You could also say: "Don't let it get you down that it is over." (The first "it" is a dummy which anticipates "that it is over.")

The second version would work better if the second "it," which is not a dummy, were changed to a normal noun phrase -- e.g.:

"Don't let it get you down that your vacation is over."

 

[bridge78]

OK, thank you. Let me formulate it differently. If it were phrases, not sentences, would any of them be a proper alternative for "not being sad that something is over"?

 

[bridge78]

Thank you for your help. I am trying to find something a bit more "poetic", still.

 

[Phaedrus]

I am trying to find something a bit more "poetic", still.

Hmm . . .

Weep not over the transitory and impermanent.

 

[Raymott]

The exact phrasing will almost certainly depend on what it is that's over.

 

[bridge78]

I would like to express deep grieve over losing a family member and the good times that we have had.

 

[Rover_KE]

I would like to express deep grief over losing a family member and the good times that we have had.

It would have been helpful if you had opened post #1 with that sentence. `

 

[emsr2d2]

Don't grieve for a lost future; celebrate a beautiful past.

 

[bridge78]

Thank you. This is very helpful. Are the following phrases grammatically incorrect?

-Don’t be grieved by it being over
-Don’t grieve for what it was
-Don’t be brokenhearted about what it was
-Don’t be mournful/sorrowful about it being over
-Don’t be mournful/sorrowful about what it was
-Don’t be grieved by the lost moments
-Don’t grieve over what it was
-Don't grieve over it being over

 

[emsr2d2]

Like I said in post #2, none of them has a closing punctuation mark.

 

[Barb_D]

This is a cultural observation, not a grammatical one.

Telling someone who has just lost a loved one not to be sad is not appropriate or helpful in my culture.

You can say something like "I hope the happiness you feel when you think back on the wonderful time you shared will soon overtake the grief you feel now."

 

[bridge78]

Clear. I though phrases did nog necessarily need closing punctuation marks. Adding a comma to all of them, would they be grammatically correct, though? I am unsure about the preposition combinations.

 

[emsr2d2]

Clear. I thought phrases did not necessarily need closing punctuation marks. Adding a comma to all of them, would they be grammatically correct, though? I am unsure about the preposition combinations.

They all appear to be full sentences so should end with a full stop. If you put a comma at the end of them, you should follow the comma with an ellipsis to show that there is more to come.

Don't grieve for what has been, ...

With regard to your originals:

-Don’t be grieved by it being over. :cross:
-Don’t grieve for what it was. :tick:
-Don’t be brokenhearted about what it was. :tick:
-Don’t be mournful/sorrowful about it being over. :tick:
-Don’t be mournful/sorrowful about what it was. :tick:
-Don’t be grieved by the lost moments. :cross:
-Don’t grieve over what it was. :tick:
-Don't grieve over it being over. :tick:

Note that ones I have marked as correct will only be correct if the context fits and on what the rest of the sentence is.

As you can see "Don't be grieved" is incorrect regardless of what preposition you follow it with. You might want to look up the word "aggrieve/aggrieved". However, the word doesn't fit your current context.

 

[Rover_KE]

You have written sentences - not phrases. They need to end in full stops (periods).

(Cross-posted)