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Thread: sit a competitive exam

  1. #1
    JIMENAS is offline Newbie
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    Default sit a competitive exam

    hi
    I would like to know if this sentence is correct "sitting a competitive examination for the position of "
    thanks

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    susiedq is offline Member
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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    "sitting a competitive examination for the position of " is not a complete sentence.

    Do you mean "to take" an exam?

    After taking the competitive exam for the position of assistant, I will know if I will stay in New York.

  3. #3
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    5jj
    5jj is offline Moderator
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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    In BrE you can 'sit' an exam. It's fairly formal.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    JIMENAS is offline Newbie
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    thanks!

  5. #5
    BobSmith is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    "She sits her exams while reading biology." This sentence means something very different to an AmE speaker (Actually, I'm not 100% sure it means anything to a Brit. )

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    SoothingDave is offline Key Member
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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    It doesn't mean anything to me.
    5jj likes this.

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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    It certainly doesn't to me.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


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    JIMENAS is offline Newbie
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    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    So, can I say"I'm sitting a competitive examination for the position of economic analyst"? (british)
    thankssss!

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    JIMENAS is offline Newbie
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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    sorry,
    So, can I say"I'm sitting a competitive examination for the position of economist analyst"?

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    emsr2d2 is online now VIP Member
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    Default Re: sit a competitive exam

    If you're actually in competition with some other people for the job, and the person who gets the highest score on the exam will get the job, then I don't see why you can't say it.

    It sounds like a rather odd recruitment process to me though. Normally, we take our exams at school/college/university and then apply for a job which we get (or don't get) based on our qualifications and how well we do at the interview. Some jobs require you to do some kind of aptitude or competency test to see how well you deal with certain situations but sitting a whole exam alongside other people to get a job seems rather harsh!

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