Jose Carillo's English Forum

Joe Carillo's Desk => You Asked Me This Question => Topic started by: Melvin on December 23, 2011, 01:46:27 PM

Title: Which is correct?
Post by: Melvin on December 23, 2011, 01:46:27 PM
"This study is humbly dedicated to those whose waterloo is English" or "This study is humbly dedicated to those whose English subject is their waterloo"? Thank you.
Title: Re: which is correct?
Post by: Joe Carillo on December 23, 2011, 02:51:43 PM
You ask which of these sentences is correct:

“This study is humbly dedicated to those whose waterloo is English.”
or
“This study is humbly dedicated to those whose English subject is their waterloo.”

I would say neither is syntactically correct, taking into account that the noun “waterloo” is a generic term for “a decisive or final defeat or setback.” One could have many waterloos in life other than English, so it’s not semantically correct to say “whose waterloo is English” or “whose English subject is their waterloo” in that very specific, single sense. To properly convey the idea of English being just one decisive setback to those being addressed, I think you need an active verb like, say, “find” in that statement and reconfigure the sentence as follows:

“This study is humbly dedicated to those who find English their waterloo.”
Title: Re: Which is correct?
Post by: Melvin on December 31, 2011, 02:56:05 PM
salamat po....I hope by including your website in the acknowledgement part of my thesis will encourage others to improve their English.
Gracias, Sir Joe.
Title: Re: Which is correct?
Post by: markhuston on March 29, 2012, 07:54:11 PM
Ya you are right, english subject is always better. 
Title: Re: Which is correct?
Post by: Melvin on March 30, 2012, 07:34:51 PM
I teach English. I love it and fascinated by its wonders. I am certain that other subjects have their own merits. Perhaps some factors contribute why some students find English better while some consider other subjects boring or unexciting.