Approve of

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Rachel Adams

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In answer to the question "Do you approve of people who become famous as a consequence of appearing again and again in the media and not because of having an artistic career?" can I say "I don't approve" and then add "People should be famous for their talent, not for appearing again and again in the media."
Is adding "of" necessary after "approve"?

Source: It's the fifth question on this page: http://iteslj.org/questions/celebrities.html
 

Charlie Bernstein

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In answer to the question "Do you approve of people who become famous as a consequence of appearing again and again in the media and not because of having an artistic career?" can I say "I don't approve" and then add "People should be famous for their talent, not for appearing again and again in the media."
Is adding "of" necessary after "approve"?

Source: It's the fifth question on this page: http://iteslj.org/questions/celebrities.html
You need to say "Do you approve OF people . . . ?" Saying "Do you approve people . . . ?" doesn't work.

Grammatical answers:

- I don't.
- I don't approve.
- I don't approve of it.
- I don't approve of that.

Ungrammatical answer:

- I don't approve of.

However, none of those is a good answer. You don't need to be an artist to earn fame. Famous people also come from politics, journalism, sports, science, and other places.
 

teechar

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Tdol

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Such people are famous for being famous. A negative term for them is sleb, a shortened form of celebrity.
 

Rachel Adams

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Rachel, do you understand the difference between these two?



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That is not a great website. I have on several occasions found errors/unnatural sentences on their website.


I understand the second to mean that these people ended up famous probably not because they wanted to be famous.
 

teechar

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No. The first is asking if the listener approves of the people, whereas the second is asking if the listener approves of the process of becoming famous through appearing again and again ... etc.
 

Rachel Adams

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No. The first is asking if the listener approves of the people, whereas the second is asking if the listener approves of the process of becoming famous through appearing again and again ... etc.
Thank you! Could you recommend a better website?
 

teechar

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For what exactly?
 
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