bend over etc.

[jiang]

Dear teachers,
I have two questions to ask:

No. 1
I don't like the way teachers ________ ( hover, bend, watch) over students all the time.

The key is all of the three words in the bracket. However, I can only find the collocation of 'watch over'. Could you please explain why the other two are correct?

No.2

way out west
way up north of the city
Here 'way' means 'far'. No problem. Could you please explain the difference between 'way out' and 'way up'?


Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang

[Mister Micawber]

.
1-- I don't much care for any but hover; are you sure that we are not to choose the best answer? Hover (over) = to keep lingering about; wait near at hand.

2-- Way up requires (in this context) a northerly direction (cf. 'Way down south in Dixie'). Out is used for an east-west direction (and at a distance).
.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,
I have two questions to ask:

No. 1
I don't like the way teachers ________ ( hover, bend, watch) over students all the time.

The key is all of the three words in the bracket. However, I can only find the collocation of 'watch over'. Could you please explain why the other two are correct?

No.2

way out west
way up north of the city
Here 'way' means 'far'. No problem. Could you please explain the difference between 'way out' and 'way up'?


Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang

1. Be somewhat careful about "common" collocations. "Watch" commonly collocates with "over" and it is probably more common than "hover over", but "watch over" has a positive meaning (security, safety, caring) and "hover over" has a negative meaning (controlling, interfering).

Because this use starts with "don't like", I would choose "hover". "Bend over" is neutral, but doesn't fit the sentence.

2. The "up" in "way up" refers to a direction. It could be elevation, or north on a map. "Way out" just means "far away".

[jiang]

Dear Mister Micawber,
I was ready to responde to you when my Internet station broke down and it wasn't fixed until now.
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand No.2.

No.1 is an exercise that require us to choose the best answer. Each sentence provides more than two choices in the brackets. In some of the sentences only one choice is correct. In others two or three are the correct choices. The example I gave was that there are three choices and the key is that all of them are correct. That's why I felt puzzled.
Jiang

Originally Posted by Mister Micawber

.
1-- I don't much care for any but hover; are you sure that we are not to choose the best answer? Hover (over) = to keep lingering about; wait near at hand.

2-- Way up requires (in this context) a northerly direction (cf. 'Way down south in Dixie'). Out is used for an east-west direction (and at a distance).
.

[jiang]

Dear Mike,
I was about to reply when my Internet station broke down.

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

Jiang

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

1. Be somewhat careful about "common" collocations. "Watch" commonly collocates with "over" and it is probably more common than "hover over", but "watch over" has a positive meaning (security, safety, caring) and "hover over" has a negative meaning (controlling, interfering).
I understand this part.
Because this use starts with "don't like", I would choose "hover". "Bend over" is neutral, but doesn't fit the sentence.
I don't understand "Bend over" is neutral". I can't find the phrase in my dictionary. Could you please tell if it means it neither have a positive meaning nor negative meaning. Since we have 'don't like' we can use the phrase here. Is that right?
Can I say because their teachers pay regard them as young kids so they pay too much attention to the students which makes the students 'don't like'?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.
Jiang


2. The "up" in "way up" refers to a direction. It could be elevation, or north on a map. "Way out" just means "far away".

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear Mike,
I was about to reply when my Internet station broke down.

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

Jiang

"Bend over" refers to a physical position, standing with a bend at the waist. It is neutral in that it has no positive otr negative connotation by itself. It doesn't fit because nobody would object to that physical position.

Yes, if the statement was made by a student it may have been in response to too much attention or control.

[jiang]

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

Jiang

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

"Bend over" refers to a physical position, standing with a bend at the waist. It is neutral in that it has no positive otr negative connotation by itself. It doesn't fit because nobody would object to that physical position.

Yes, if the statement was made by a student it may have been in response to too much attention or control.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

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

Jiang

Great!