"write the word bigger"?
DJ
I came across this sentence from a forum (for learners):
"Would you please write the word bigger?"
I'm wondering if it sounds acceptable to you?
------
The wording of "write the word bigger" sounds a bit odd to me, but I can
still make out its meaning(I thought). Out of curiosity, I did a Google
search, and I was surprised by the results:
www.google.com :
"write the word bigger" : 1 (but is actually "... write the word
'bigger' ...", not write a bigger word)
"write * word bigger" : 4 (but none of them fit)
books.google.com
"write the word bigger"
"write * word bigger"
(show 1 to 2 hits, but the contents weren't shown)
So it seems like the usage is wrong, but I can't be certain....
--
DJ
-- DJ
Skitt
The usage is just fine if the asker is myopic and is asking the writer to
use larger (bigger) letters.
--
Skitt (AmE)
jes' fine
DJ
....
>
> The usage is just fine if the asker is myopic and is asking the writer
> to use larger (bigger) letters.
Thanks.
--
DJ
tony cooper
It's understandable, but it would be more clear to write "Write the
word in larger letters".
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida
John Lawler
15 years ago, when I first joined a.u.e,
by this point in the discussion I would've
expected someone to point out that the
correct usage would be
Write the word more bigly.
Congratulations, a.u.e!
Downly with the adverbial suffix!
-John Lawler * http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler
"Opinions on language are as interesting as
opinions on arithmetic." -- P.J. O'Rourke
Robert Bannister
Sigh. I suppose that's largely true today.
--
Rob Bannister
R H Draney
>
>> The wording of "write the word bigger" sounds a bit odd to me, but I can
>> still make out its meaning(I thought). Out of curiosity, I did a Google
>> search, and I was surprised by the results:
>>
>> www.google.com:
>> "write the word bigger" : 1 (but is actually "... write the word
>> 'bigger' ...", not write a bigger word)
>>
>> "write * word bigger" : 4 (but none of them fit)
>>
>> books.google.com
>> "write the word bigger"
>> "write * word bigger"
>> (show 1 to 2 hits, but the contents weren't shown)
>>
>> So it seems like the usage is wrong, but I can't be certain....
>
>by this point in the discussion I would've
>expected someone to point out that the
>correct usage would be
>
> Write the word more bigly.
>
>Congratulations, a.u.e!
>Downly with the adverbial suffix!
The only problem with the original sentence is that it seems to make "bigger"
modify "word"...and while the person making the request probably *does* want to
see a bigger word written, the primary binding of "bigger" is "write"...assuming
that "bigger" can be either adjective or adverb, this would make the correct
form:
"Write bigger the word."
Clearly there is something wrong with this chain of reasoning....r
--
A pessimist sees the glass as half empty.
An optometrist asks whether you see the glass
more full like this?...or like this?
Robert Lieblich
[ ... ]
> 15 years ago, when I first joined a.u.e,
> by this point in the discussion I would've
> expected someone to point out that the
> correct usage would be
>
> Write the word more bigly.
I believe the verb is "embiggen." Look it up.
> Congratulations, a.u.e!
> Downly with the adverbial suffix!
Well-ly said.
--
Bob Lieblich
As weird as ever
JimboCat
> John Lawler wrote:
>
> [ ... ]
>
> > 15 years ago, when I first joined a.u.e,
> > by this point in the discussion I would've
> > expected someone to point out that the
> > correct usage would be
>
> > Write the word more bigly.
>
> I believe the verb is "embiggen." Look it up.
But you can't use the word "embiggen" in a sentence unless it also
contains the word "cromulent". It's a Rule.
Jim Deutch (JimboCat)
--
"He's embiggened that role with his cromulent performance." [Principal
Skinner]
Joe Fineman
> The only problem with the original sentence is that it seems to make
> "bigger" modify "word"...and while the person making the request
> probably *does* want to see a bigger word written, the primary
> binding of "bigger" is "write"...assuming that "bigger" can be
> either adjective or adverb, this would make the correct form:
>
> "Write bigger the word."
>
> Clearly there is something wrong with this chain of reasoning....r
What is wrong with it, IMO, is that "bigger" is a predicate adjective;
the analogy is with "make the word clearer", "paint the town red", "it
tastes good", etc.
--
--- Joe Fineman jo...@verizon.net
||: Where there is too much, something is missing. :||
John Lawler
> JohnLawlerfilted:
Actually, besides the cromulentiferosity problem
which JimboCat refers to, another Rule of English
is 'Don't put an adverbial between a verb and its
direct object'. As you can see, this can cause often
some problems.
-John Lawler * http://www.umich.edu/~jlawler
"As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I
craved factual certainty, and I thirsted for a
meaningful vision of human life -- so I became
a scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop
so you can meet girls." -- M. Cartmill
Eric Walker
[...]
> I believe the verb is "embiggen." Look it up. . . .
Ah, yes. When one looks at old Charles Atlas ads and feels he is not
sufficiently big and strong, he does exercises that will embiggen and
enstrongen him.
--
Cordially,
Eric Walker, Owlcroft House
http://owlcroft.com/english/