Fold open

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Hly2004  #166925  Tue, 06 Dec 05 04:06 PM

"This cell phone can fold open"

Is this sentence correct?

or "This cell phone can be folded open"

Which one sounds better?

  
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pieanne  #166948  Tue, 06 Dec 05 05:22 PM

I think they call it a "flip phone". It's a phone you flip open. It sounds weird to say you can flip it open, because it's the only way to use it.

 

  
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I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...
CalifJim  #167194  Wed, 07 Dec 05 08:47 AM
The first one sounds better.
Maybe it's the fact that the subject ("phone") is not an agent (can't do any folding) bothers you?
Don't let that bother you.  This occurs quite a lot in English.

CJ

  
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Hly2004  #167208  Wed, 07 Dec 05 09:32 AM
Thank you !Smile [:)]
  
Diamondrg  #167260  Wed, 07 Dec 05 01:29 PM

 CalifJim wrote:
The first one sounds better.
Maybe it's the fact that the subject ("phone") is not an agent (can't do any folding) bothers you?
Don't let that bother you.  This occurs quite a lot in English.

CJ

English phones are really adept then!

  
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CalifJim  #167363  Wed, 07 Dec 05 06:54 PM
Yes, indeed!  And it's not just the phones.

Light bulbs can break, towels can dry dishes, knives can cut through butter, and yachts can sometimes even sleep sixteen people!

CJ

  
Diamondrg  #167374  Wed, 07 Dec 05 07:27 PM

yeah now I remember.  stadiums holding 5000 people. they don't let people go. interesting.

but still sometimes we, nonnatives, become like robots who can do anything a human does but don't have emotions. we say something but are by no means aware of its full connotations and always wonder what a native would say in that particular situation. a foreign language is like an uncharted territory in which we can never be sure when we will step on a mine. this is true of nonnatives, at least for those of us who have not lived in a country where English is the medium of communication. but you natives help us very much in the right direction. thank you very much indeed.

  
CalifJim  #167430  Thu, 08 Dec 05 12:30 AM
we say something but are by no means aware of its full connotations and always wonder what a native would say in that particular situation. a foreign language is like an uncharted territory in which we can never be sure when we will step on a mine.


Beautifully said!  And so true!  Thank you for reminding us.

Jim

P.S.  Don't forget to capitalize the first word of each sentence!
  
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