English Language Discussion Forums

#1 12-Jun-2003, 15:21

Since I knew already about difference between Gold and Golden in above topic, I just wonder how to distinguish Sick and Sicken? Can those two words taken place by each other?

Here is the sentence I cited from "Economics":

One McDonald's meat scout,no stranger to slaughterhouses,was sickened by his visit to a Soviet abattoir.

How do I follow up the whole sentence better?

Thanks for your help :)

Lucy with thanks

**RonBee** · #2 12-Jun-2003, 15:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyarliwu

Since I knew already about difference between Gold and Golden in above topic, I just wonder how to distinguish Sick and Sicken? Can those two words taken place by each other?

Here is the sentence I cited from "Economics":

One McDonald's meat scout,no stranger to slaughterhouses,was sickened by his visit to a Soviet abattoir.

How do I follow up the whole sentence better?

Thanks for your help :)

Lucy with thanks

If someone is sickened he is made sick. You cannot use sick for sickened in the quoted sentence. In fact, it is not likely that you could ever substitute one for the other. Sick is a noun or an adjective, while sicken is a verb.

I'm afraid I don't know what you mean by "follow up" there.

8)

**Tdol** · #3 12-Jun-2003, 23:38

Sick is an adjective and sicken a verb, so they aren't interchangeable.

I think your sentence is fine. However, maybe you could use a different verb, like 'revolted' or 'disgusted' or 'nauseated'- sicken normally refers to illness rather than feeling like vomiting.

#4 13-Jun-2003, 06:38

Thanks Ron and thanks Tdol for your help!

Sorry, Ron! Maybe I should use" understand' to vice " follow up" in the preceding sentence, but I have thought the phrase of "follow up" has the meaning of " to understand, to catch" before, so I did it this time.

Also I once watched a English movie, there was some actor said:' I'm sick of that!' responding to a very disgusting ghost. So I think 'sick' inside must be" disgusted,vomiting" just like here" ......, was sickened....".
hmm.....maybe I made wrong of that
:P

**RonBee** · #5 13-Jun-2003, 15:58

Here are some definitions for "follow up":
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...y&va=follow-up
http://www.bartleby.com/61/98/F0229800.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=follow-up
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/defi....up*1+0&dict=P

(I hope you have the time to look at all of them, because I would like to know which you think is best.)

8)

**RonBee** · #6 13-Jun-2003, 16:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyarliwu

Thanks Ron and thanks Tdol for your help!

Sorry, Ron! Maybe I should use" understand' to vice " follow up" in the preceding sentence, but I have thought the phrase of "follow up" has the meaning of " to understand, to catch" before, so I did it this time.

To "follow up" something is to follow it with something else. It is probably used more often as an adjective than as a noun. For example, a "follow up" question is a question asked after another question.

I'm afraid I don't understand your used of "vice" there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucyarliwu

Also I once watched a English movie, there was some actor said:' I'm sick of that!' responding to a very disgusting ghost. So I think 'sick' inside must be" disgusted,vomiting" just like here" ......, was sickened....".
hmm.....maybe I made wrong of that
:P

"I'm sick of that" is a common English expression. A person might say that if he is weary of something and wants to hear no more about it. It is an expression of disgust. In your earlier example (about the abattoir) the person might actually have become sick. "I was sick inside" is an expression of disgust. Perhaps the person saw something disgusting. Perhaps the person actually felt like vomiting, but more often the speaker is not talking about actual sickness. Example: "It made me sick to my stomach to hear the testimony about that child being abused."

Say: "Maybe I was wrong about that."

8)

**Red5** · #7 13-Jun-2003, 18:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdol

Sick is an adjective and sicken a verb, so they aren't interchangeable.

I think your sentence is fine. However, maybe you could use a different verb, like 'revolted' or 'disgusted' or 'nauseated'- sicken normally refers to illness rather than feeling like vomiting.

I have to say that I have no problem with sicken in that sentence. I would say "It sickens me to see..." quite freely.

#8 14-Jun-2003, 06:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBee

Here are some definitions for "follow up":
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...y&va=follow-up
http://www.bartleby.com/61/98/F0229800.html
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=follow-up
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/defi....up*1+0&dict=P

(I hope you have the time to look at all of them, because I would like to know which you think is best.)

8)

I have looked at those four website already, and according to the function of looking for the definition or meaning of phrases, I prefer the last one, that is Cambridge International Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs,where it's enough to find out what I want with relevant examples to each explanation, and it might be a bit messy and overdone with some symbols since I have known the phrase already. But referring to other functions, each website has its own strengh. Such is my personal opinion.

And sorry, Ron, one of the meaning of 'vice' in my memory is 'taking place' as a verb while it should be 'in place of' as a prepostion, :P I guess I mixed it up.Thanks for reminding!