Jandi  +  82045 Fri, 18 Mar 05 06:30 AM Hello, teachers! Could you please tell me if these verbs are all OK are natural? 1. See the children playing/sporting/frolicking on the lawn. 2. The bullies claimed that no harm was intended; they were just [teasing, sporting with] their victim. Thank you very much. Jandi Joined on Tue, Sep 7 2004 Full Member 348 Verbs

	CalifJim  +  82056 Fri, 18 Mar 05 07:26 AM The verb "sport" does not occur much in American English. Maybe it's more of a British expression. To me, "to frolic" is also a rather rarely heard verb. "playing on the lawn" and "teasing their victim" are the most usual phrases among those you suggest. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,385 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche American English, Verbs

	pieanne  +  82117 Fri, 18 Mar 05 11:48 AM You could say a man is sporting a carnation on his lapel, but of course it has nothing to do with sports! pieanne Joined on Thu, Jan 20 2005 South of France ...But I'm Belgian! Veteran Member 7,517 I'm glad to help, but I'm not a native! And please excuse my typos...

	MrPedantic  +  82246 Sat, 19 Mar 05 12:11 AM We rarely sport or frolic in BrE... So I'd agree with CJ's choices, Jandi! MrP Edit: No, that's not quite true, on 2nd thoughts. Our tabloid stories of celebrity hanky-panky often use the word 'frolic' to mean a brief, uncomplicated relationship between a man and a woman. So not quite the context we want here. MrPedantic Joined on Tue, Oct 12 2004 Veteran Member 12,592 ...opella forensis / adducit febris...

	CalifJim  +  82276 Sat, 19 Mar 05 03:57 AM Yes, the concept of frolicking in the more innocent sense is needed here, but in that sense, "frolic" is just a silly old verb, don't you think? Is it even possible to frolic in today's complex world? I think of young foxes or kittens when I think of frolicking. I don't know why. CalifJim Verbs