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MarvinTheMartian

#515441 Mon, 19 May 08 07:25 AM

Hi Clive, I have a question regarding this. Is there a difference between saying "the flood made the building sink into the ground" and "the flood sank the building into the ground"? Likewise, is it better to say "he melted the icicle in his hand" than "he made the icicle melt in his hand", or are both sentences equally correct?

MarvinTheMartian

Joined on Fri, Jan 18 2008

Full Member (165)

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Anonymous

#515632 Mon, 19 May 08 03:12 PM

Hi Clive,

Thank you so much for your answer and all your help!

Anonymous

Clive

#515824 Mon, 19 May 08 09:44 PM

Hi,

I have a question regarding this. Is there a difference between saying "the flood made the building sink into the ground" and "the flood sank the building into the ground"? Only the former sounds natural. To my mind, the latter almost makes it sound like the flood intended to do that.

Likewise, is it better to say "he melted the icicle in his hand" than "he made the icicle melt in his hand", or are both sentences equally correct? Both are OK. Both suggest that he had intention.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (21,184)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

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MarvinTheMartian

#517078 Thu, 22 May 08 11:23 AM

Are you sure? The following example is taken from the Oxford Dictionary of English: "A freak wave sank their boat near the shore." Unless the author meant to depict the wave as a character with a will of its own, I see no difference between my example and the dictionary's. Why then can't I say "the flood sank the bulding into the ground"?

Thanks in advance.

MarvinTheMartian

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Clive

#517132 Thu, 22 May 08 12:28 PM

Hi,

I agree that it's OK to say 'The wave sank the ship', but the whole idea of "The flood sank the building into the ground" sounds odd. I can envisage a ship sinking very easily, but please explain what happened to the building in more detail so that I can picture it in my mind.

Best wishes, Clive

Clive

Anonymous

#522412 Tue, 03 Jun 08 01:22 PM

Hi Clive,

The earthquake caused the house to collapse.

Can I use 'leave' instead of 'cause' here as in

The earthquake left the house collapsing.

Thanks

Anonymous

Clive

#522424 Tue, 03 Jun 08 01:52 PM

Hi,

The earthquake caused the house to collapse. The house is down on the ground in ruins.

Can I use 'leave' instead of 'cause' here as in

The earthquake left the house collapsing. Sounds like the house is in the process of collapsing, ie it's not yet completely down on the ground in ruins.

Clive

Anonymous

#522449 Tue, 03 Jun 08 02:45 PM

Hi Clive,

Thank you very much for your explanation.

Can I say

The earthquake left the house to collapse.

Does it mean the same as 'the earthquake caused the house to collapse'?

Thanks!

Anonymous

Clive

#522454 Tue, 03 Jun 08 03:16 PM

Hi,

No. It means the house collapsed some time after the earthquake finished.

Clive

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