[Grammar] an opportunity comes along

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Ashiuhto

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Nov 30, 2010
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Chinese
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Taiwan
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Taiwan
Are the following sentences acceptable?

“Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” This sentence describes his success well, and it worth our contemplation.
 
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Tullia

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Are the following sentences acceptable?

“Luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.” This sentence describes his success well, and it worth our contemplation.

I've highlighted an area where I think there is a problem. Can you see what the problem is, or do you need more help?


(I'm not sure if it's a genuine error, or just a typo!)
 
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Tullia

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P.S. Many (many!) native speakers do NOT follow this rule. Furthermore, probably many teachers would tell you not to worry

about "Luck is when ...." But it might be a good idea, in my opinion, if you tried to follow the rule.


As is very often the case, TheParser is right! I'm one of the teachers who would tell you not to worry too much. In my opinion, your sentence is an acceptable contraction of a perfectly grammatical sentence along the lines of:

“Luck is [the name for a situation] when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.”

and in that sentence, "the name" would be the noun required, but in general spoken English we don't bother expanding the sentence fully.
 
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