[General] Is this correct eloquent English?

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iSergiwa

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I have this thought in mind and I need to make sure it is correct and eloquent before I post it somewhere else:

"Rage is to Comics like Rap is to Music."

If this is prosaic/wrong English then would you mind giving me the eloquent/correct alternative.

Thanks
 

bhaisahab

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I have this thought in mind and I need to make sure it is correct and eloquent before I post it somewhere else:

"Rage is to Comics like Rap is to Music."

If this is prosaic/wrong English then would you mind giving me the eloquent/correct alternative.

Thanks

It doesn't make any sense to me.
 

iSergiwa

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bhaisahab, you know I am asking about the grammar not the meaning right?
OK, let me give another one:
"Candy is to Kids like Sex is to Adults"
Is this correct English?
 

emsr2d2

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It's difficult to separate grammar from meaning in some examples.

The construction "A is to B as C is to D" is a commonly used construction, but only where the examples you use actually make sense. The main error with yours is that you have inexplicably capitalised words in the sentence other than the first letter of the sentence.
 

iSergiwa

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It's difficult to separate grammar from meaning in some examples.

The construction "A is to B as C is to D" is a commonly used construction, but only where the examples you use actually make sense. The main error with yours is that you have inexplicably capitalised words in the sentence other than the first letter of the sentence.

Thank you for understanding me, so tell me please: is the following sentence correct English now:
"Candy is to kids like sex is to adults"
if not, could you please correct it for me?
Thanks
 

emsr2d2

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I have already told you that "A is to B as C is to D" is a correct construction, so grammatically the construction you have used is correct.

The examples you have chosen "Candy/kids" and "sex/adults" doesn't make much sense unless you simply mean that they give the same amount of pleasure to those people. That excludes all the adults who would rather have candy than sex! I don't find it a very natural example of the construction.
 

iSergiwa

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I see. So the original one is grammatically correct too. That's all what I wanted to know. Whether it makes sense or not is not the field of specialization of this forum.

Thank you very much
 

emsr2d2

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I see. So the original one is grammatically correct too. That's all what I wanted to know. Whether it makes sense or not is not the field of specialization of this forum.

Thank you very much

Helping people to write grammatically correct English which makes sense is very much the point of this forum, I can assure you.
 

iSergiwa

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Helping people to write grammatically correct English which makes sense is very much the point of this forum, I can assure you.

I don't think so, because what makes sense to you does not necessarily makes sense to me and vice versa. An English sentence like: "All men enjoy sex with women" does not make any sense to an English grammar teacher who is gay although it is grammatically correct :)

Thank you
 

emsr2d2

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I don't think so, because what makes sense to you does not necessarily makes sense to me and vice versa. An English sentence like: "All men enjoy sex with women" does not make any sense to an English grammar teacher who is gay although it is grammatically correct :)

Thank you

There is a big difference between something making sense and something being factually accurate/inaccurate. Stating that "all men enjoy sex with women" is grammatically correct, makes sense (ie the meaning of the words put together can be understood) but is factually inaccurate.
 

iSergiwa

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There is a big difference between something making sense and something being factually accurate/inaccurate. Stating that "all men enjoy sex with women" is grammatically correct, makes sense (ie the meaning of the words put together can be understood) but is factually inaccurate.

OK then, could you please tell me what you can say about my thought:

Rage is to Comics like Rap is to Music

1. Does not make sense?
or
2. Factually inaccurate?

Thanks :)
 

emsr2d2

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It depends. I personally know nothing about comics so it is entirely possible that "Rage" is some kind of comic or magazine and that people "in the know" might be able to make sense of your statement. I would guess that the majority of native English speakers would not understand that sentence. They would understand that it was using the "A is to B as C is to D" construction and I'm sure most of them would see a connection between "rap" and "music", but I think the connection between "rage" and "comics" would be a mystery to most of them.

I also don't think that one could describe all "A is to B as C is to D" constructions as either factually accurate or inaccurate because some of those statements are based on logic and others on one person's very subjective opinion.

My original point still stands by the way - you have inappropriate capitalisation for a standard English sentence, if that is what it's meant to be.
 

iSergiwa

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hmmmm, If you don't know what I am talking about you will not be to help me, that's for sure.

Well, let me explain...

I believe you know rap music (Hip-hop Music)

In the same manner, Rage comic is an internet meme for a comic centering on a titular rage guy drawn mostly with Microsoft Paint (nonprofessional drawings). Read about it here

Now there's classic music for example, which I believe is a sophisticated type of music and I like it so much. Likewise, there's Marvel Comics which also is a sophisticated and professional type of comics and I like it too.

What I am trying to say is: What Rage comics did to the comic world is exactly like what rap music did to the music world. Both (Rap & Rage) did badly to both (Music & Comics), and both are shame on both.

Now instead of all this long speech, I wanted one sentence that says it all, it's my own opinion after all and I am not asking anyone to believe what I believe. I just want to make sure it's grammatically correct.

Thank you
 

Tdol

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Rage is to Comics like Rap is to Music

You need to change it to:
Rage is to comics as Rap/rap is to music.


That's grammatically correct. Whether it makes sense or not would depend a lot on the context. In a text, it could, as a stand-alone sentence, less so because it is unclear whether these things are good or bad.
 

Barb_D

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I just had my daughter show me rage comics. I asked if she understood the analogy. She said it was sound.
 

Tdol

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It works when you know the OP's views, but a rap fan might regard rap as having been a positive force for music, in which case it wouldn't work, which is why context would be important for me.
 

Barb_D

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Or you could say that rap was a music of the people without fancy-schmancy classical training, just like rage is a comic form of the people, without graphical training. (Personally, I abhor rap, but then, I didn't find much to say about the rage comics either. They reminded me of Colorforms.)
 

iSergiwa

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You need to change it to:
Rage is to comics as Rap/rap is to music.

That's grammatically correct. Whether it makes sense or not would depend a lot on the context. In a text, it could, as a stand-alone sentence, less so because it is unclear whether these things are good or bad.

Now that's the answer I was expecting from this forum. Thank you very much.

I just had my daughter show me rage comics. I asked if she understood the analogy. She said it was sound.

Please pardon my English, I don't exactly get what you mean by "the analogy was sound". Does it mean that my analogy DOES make sense to your daughter?
 

Barb_D

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Yes, it worked as it was intended.
 

iSergiwa

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Yes, it worked as it was intended.

Oh I see, then I think I know how she feels when she listens to rap music or watches rage comics ;)

Well, I believe I have got all the answers I need.

Thank you, all of you.
 
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