lovable, lovely, loving

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Please read the sentence:
I wans't interested in young girls, but how could I find a mature_________ woman to share my life?

a. lovable b. loving c. lovely

The key is 'b'. Could you please explain the meaning of each , I mean 'a', 'b' and 'c'? I have consulted my dictionary but find all are correct. The three words are quite confusing.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

[curmudgeon]

Lovable is used to describe someone who is inoffensive. 'A loveable rascal' or a 'loveable rogue'. Adorable could also be used.

Loving is used to describe someone who is sweet natured and attentive to another. 'A loving husband and father'

Lovely means good looking or perhaps beautiful, but can also be used to describe a persons temperament. 'She is such a lovely person' - meaning she is likeable and unselfish.

So 'loving' is most appropriate in your case. You could of course look for a beautiful, adoring, loving woman, however they are quite hard to find!

[MikeNewYork]

Dear teachers,

Please read the sentence:
I wans't interested in young girls, but how could I find a mature_________ woman to share my life?

a. lovable b. loving c. lovely

The key is 'b'. Could you please explain the meaning of each , I mean 'a', 'b' and 'c'? I have consulted my dictionary but find all are correct. The three words are quite confusing.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Jiang

As far as I am concerned, all three answers are correct.

lovable: having characteristics that attract love or affection
loving: affectionate, giving/showing love
lovely: beautiful, attractive

[curmudgeon]

Which would you prefer? and should faithful be in there somewhere.

[jiang]

Hi,

Thank you very mcuh for your explanation. Do you mean 'loving' is the only possible answer?

Jiang

Lovable is used to describe someone who is inoffensive. 'A loveable rascal' or a 'loveable rogue'. Adorable could also be used.

Loving is used to describe someone who is sweet natured and attentive to another. 'A loving husband and father'

Lovely means good looking or perhaps beautiful, but can also be used to describe a persons temperament. 'She is such a lovely person' - meaning she is likeable and unselfish.

So 'loving' is most appropriate in your case. You could of course look for a beautiful, adoring, loving woman, however they are quite hard to find!

[curmudgeon]

If you can only choose one then loving is the most appropriate characteristic in my opinion

[jiang]

Hi,
When I can't see the difference I asked the question because I think all are correct.

Jiang

Which would you prefer? and should faithful be in there somewhere.

[jiang]

This is too bad because both you and Mike are native speakers but you give me different answers. What should I do?

Jiang

If you can only choose one then loving is the most appropriate characteristic in my opinion

[MikeNewYork]

This is too bad because both you and Mike are native speakers but you give me different answers. What should I do?

Jiang

I fear that curmudgeon is selecting the quality that is most important to him. This is an English question, not a matchmaking site. That said, we natives sometimes disagree.

[jiang]

Dear Mike,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I see.

Jiang

I fear that curmudgeon is selecting the quality that is most important to him. This is an English question, not a matchmaking site. That said, we natives sometimes disagree.