ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Yankee — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:54:52 GMT

Hi GG

No, I cannot remember ever having heard or read "entangle" used that way. But I guess I can't rule out the possibility that I might have run across that usage at one time or another, and simply don't remember it. The active, transitive usage of 'entangled' (meaning complicated) certainly can't be considered a very common usage.

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Grammar Geek — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:39:01 GMT

Amy, have you even seen "entangle" as an active, transitive verb? As in: You have entangled the situation by involving the FBI and Rose's ex-lover's new wife. As a direct substitution for the word "complicated"?

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Yankee — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 06:39:43 GMT

To continue with the "dueling dictionaries" theme, this is what Oxford has to say about the usual usage:

entangle

â¢ verb (usu. be entangled in/with) 1 cause to become tangled. 2 involve in complicated circumstances

I agree that "become entangled" is also a common usage.

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Marius Hancu — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 22:49:52 GMT

Grammar Geek wrote:

As we have said before, simply because it's in the dictionary, it doesn't mean it's in common use. In the U.S., I have simply never seen it used as defined in #3.

Me either.

But here's another dictionary definition:
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enÂ·tangle

Function:transitive verb

1 a : to twist or interweave so as to make separation difficult : make tangled and intricate : SNARL <entangle yarn> b : to make complicated or difficult of comprehension : CONFUSE <his explanation did not so much clarify as entangle the question>

2 a : to involve so as to impede physical movement or make extrication difficult : ENMESH, ENSNARL <entangle a bird in the coils of a net> <entangled themselves in a maze of woods and marshes> <entangled his feet in the train of her dress> b : to involve in a perplexing or troublesome situation from which escape is difficult : ENTRAP <entangling the country in a vicious circle of wars> <entangled himself in a ruinous litigation> <entangled his victims in a real-estate scheme that cost them dearly> <had entangled the king in a false marriage with her -- Edith Sitwell> c : to confuse mentally : PERPLEX, BEWILDER <entangled his listeners in a maze of sophistries> d archaic : ENCUMBER <died ... leaving an entangled estate, due to loans and back rentals -- R.J.Porcell>

http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com
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Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Grammar Geek — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 21:02:30 GMT

I should have rephrased. I have never encountered "entangle" as an active, transitive verb.

I have seen "it has become entangled" (often in the physical sense - I like the washing machine example).

As we have said before, simply because it's in the dictionary, it doesn't mean it's in common use. In the U.S., I have simply never seen it used as defined in #3.

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Yoong Liat — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:23:59 GMT

Grammar Geek wrote:
I have never seen entangle used as a verb.

The following is extracted from a dictionary.

transitive verb

Definition:

1. tangle something up: to make something become twisted up in a mass of strands, e.g. netting or hair ( usually passive )

2. put somebody in difficult situation: to involve somebody or something in a problem that will be difficult to escape from ( usually passive )
were entangled in corporate politics

3. complicate something: to make something more complicated or confusing
The story entangles the facts with value judgments.

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

EnglishRaven — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:15:39 GMT

Hi WesternAmerican,

Yes, I would call them synonyms as they express the same broad concept (of something getting wrapped up or made to be more difficult than before). But the usage is different (collocation) depending on the situation and other words or ideas you want to use them with.

When I read your "to entangle things" I get a sense of things getting tied together physically or in a messy way.

When I read "complicate things" I get a sense of an intangible (something you can't touch) idea that has become more difficult and or confusing than before.

So I think you could get your dirty clothes all entangled in the laundry while you are trying to load them into the washer, but you could complicate things for yourself if you then decided to start sorting the clothes into whites and darks while they are all entangled there in the washer.

One (entangle) is more common for physical objects, while the other (complicate) refers to problems or situations (things we usually can't touch).

Does that make sense? I hope so!

Best,

Jason

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Grammar Geek — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 19:15:00 GMT

I have never seen entangle used as a verb.

Re: To entangle things= To complicate things?

Yoong Liat — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:42:56 GMT

WesternAmerican wrote:
Are the two verbs synonym?
Thanks.

They are synonyms based on the following definition.

complicate something: to make something more complicated or confusing
The story entangles the facts with value judgments.

To entangle things= To complicate things?

WesternAmerican — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:44:37 GMT

Are the two verbs synonym?
Thanks.