historic monuments lie empty

[alpacinou]

Hello,

I want to suggest that some historic places that were always full of people are now empty. Also, I want to suggest that factories that show human advancement have stopped working.

Does this work? What do you think?

Historic monuments, teeming with people for centuries, now lie empty. Factories that reassured us of human's endless advancement have ceased working.

 

[jutfrank]

A monument is not necessarily a place, so it doesn't make good sense.

What do you mean by 'historic monuments'? Give us a few examples.

 

[alpacinou]

A monument is not necessarily a place, so it doesn't make good sense.

What do you mean by 'historic monuments'? Give us a few examples.

The Colosseum in Rome for example. What can I use? Historic places? What about the rest of the sentence? Is it fine?

 

[GoesStation]

Historic monuments that teemed with people for centuries now lie empty. Factories that reassured us of human's endless advancement have [STRIKE]ceased working[/STRIKE] shut down.

What about the rest of the sentence? Is it [STRIKE]fine[/STRIKE] okay/correct?

It's fine with my suggestions. By adding "that teemed" as a qualifier (if I've got the right term), I've reduced the scope of the statement to monuments where people congregate.

Remember that we can say something is fine in affirmative and, sometimes, negative statements but it doesn't work in interrogatives.

 

[alpacinou]

It's fine with my suggestions. By adding "that teemed" as a qualifier (if I've got the right term), I've reduced the scope of the statement to monuments where people congregate.

Remember that we can say something is fine in affirmative and, sometimes, negative statements but it doesn't work in interrogatives.

Is this completely okay? Is there a way it can be made better?

Historic monuments that teemed with people for centuries now lie empty. Factories that reassured us of human's endless advancement have shut down.

Yes. Dear emsr2d2 has reminded me of the difference between fine and okay twice. But I don't know why I forgot!

 

[GoesStation]

Is this completely okay? Is there a way it can be made better?

Historic monuments that teemed with people for centuries now lie empty. Factories that reassured us of humanity's endless advancement have shut down.

The revised version is okay with my correction. I'm not at all keen on endless advancement, though. How about something with "progress"?

 

[alpacinou]

The revised version is okay with my correction. I'm not at all keen on endless advancement, though. How about something with "progress"?

Do you mean this?

Historic monuments that teemed with people for centuries now lie empty. Factories that reassured us of humanity's progress have shut down.

 

[Tarheel]

That's better.
:up:

 

[alpacinou]

In my language, we have an idiom about factory which literally translates to "the gears in factories have stopped rotating". Do we have a similar expression in English about when factories stop operating?

 

[GoesStation]

In my language, we have an idiom about factory which literally translates to "the gears in factories have stopped rotating". Do we have a similar expression in English about when factories stop operating?

The wheels of commerce applies to trade in general. Busy factories are said to be humming, and idle ones are silent.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

The Colosseum in Rome for example. What can I use? Historic places? What about the rest of the sentence? Is it fine?

By the way, the Colosseum isn't a monument. It's an arena, stadium, structure, building, edifice, and site.

The most all-purpose word for a significant or prominent landscape feature I can think of is landmark.

 

[alpacinou]

By the way, the Colosseum isn't a monument. It's an arena, stadium, structure, building, edifice, and site.

The most all-purpose word for a significant or prominent landscape feature I can think of is landmark.

I see. Should the sentence be like this?

Historic [STRIKE]monuments [/STRIKE] landmarks that teemed with people for centuries now lie empty. Factories that reassured us of humanity's progress have shut down.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

That's much better.

 

[alpacinou]

About factories, can I say "factories wheels have been brought" to a halt?

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

About factories, can I say, "Factories wheels have been brought to a halt"?

It will be understood. A more common expression is "the wheels of industry."

 

[alpacinou]

It will be understood. A more common expression is "the wheels of industry."

I did some searching an apparently, it's not used in passive voice and they use it with grind.

What do you think about this sentence? Is it natural?

Owing to the pandemic, wheels of industry have ground to a halt.

 

[GoesStation]

What do you think about this sentence? Is it natural?

Owing to the pandemic, wheels of industry have ground to a halt.

It's missing an article.

 

[alpacinou]

It's missing an article.

Owing to the pandemic, the wheels of industry have ground to a halt.

Is it a natural sentence?

 

[GoesStation]

Owing to the pandemic, the wheels of industry have ground to a halt.

Is [STRIKE]it[/STRIKE] that a natural sentence?

Yes. It could have been written by a native speaker.

 

[alpacinou]

It could have been written by a native speaker.

That's the way I like it.