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Ask for help > Need some help with synonyms...once again
Need some help with synonyms...once again
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yanogator
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I would say that you would commend the concerts themselves, but not their virtues. As you found, there is a common expression "to extol the virtues of", so "d" would be my answer.
Bruce |
12 May 2011
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magneto
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Thank you for the quick reply, Bruce
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13 May 2011
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Jayho
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OMG Magneto - such a difficult question for your students. In fact, I rarely see extol used these days and my NS gut feeling was for option a commending. However, googling shows that both commend and extol seem to collocate with virtues so really it is quite difficult to ascertain. I�m not a grammar guru so I�m just going on gut feel and I�m not sure even if I could explain why b and c don�t fit. I�ve had a look in my books and there is zilch there. |
13 May 2011
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anamagalhaes
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Of course it all depends on the context, but both a) and c) are correct choices in this sentence.
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13 May 2011
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Jayho
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Why do you say c is correct? Is there a grammatical reason? As a NS it just doesn�t sound right but that doesn�t mean it is grammatically incorrect. I�m interested to know. |
13 May 2011
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douglas
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I agree with Jayho -- as a NS I would have chosen "extolling" (especially since they are handing you these papers on the street trying to get you to attend the concerts).
EDIT: (Webster�s)
com�mend/kəˈmend/Verb
1. Praise formally or officially.
2. Present as suitable for approval or acceptance; recommend: "I commend her to you without reservation".
After reading the second definition I can now see where commending would work too--I have always used commending for the first definition and recommending for the second. |
13 May 2011
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magneto
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Thank you all for your replies. You �ve been very helpful!
I �m still a bit confused, though...
Should I tell them that both are correct and that extolling would probably be better collocation-wise, but it �s not used very frequently these days, as Jayho suggests?
What about you, Douglas and Bruce (or any other American friends)? Would you say that it �s frequently used in the US?
Any British native speakers out there? What �s the case in the UK? Would they both be used? Would you use only one of them?
Thank you all again...and sorry for being a pain in the neck
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13 May 2011
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alien boy
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As a NS my first preference would have been d extolling over a commending too.
According to the Online Oxford Dictionary (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/extol?view=uk) the definition of extol is �to praise lavishly � which is a little different to formally or officially praising something.
WHen commending something there is the implication of verifiable/quantifiable quality that is being praised.
When extolling something you may only be praising something that is agreeable in your opinion (meaning it could be construed as �mere puffery � in legal terms if someone tries to sue you for confusing your opinion with verifiable fact if they don�t find he same enjoyment in the advertised performance).
but I could just be influenced by my understanding of contract & torts law...
as the �bits of paper being handed out � would be a form of advertising then I feel extolling would be more acceptible as the correct term in these litiginous times!
Cheers,
AB
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13 May 2011
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magneto
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Thank you, AB
...I see most of you have opted for extol, so I suppose it �s also possible that there �s a mistake in the key, right?...Hmmm...
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13 May 2011
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redcamarocruiser
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To me extolling is the best choice. Commending doesn �t sound usual to me, even though it appears in the dictionary as an apparent option.
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13 May 2011
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