[Grammar] Susceptible To

Status
Not open for further replies.

Jacka

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
United States
Context: sports.

"After recent poor performance, he is susceptible to fan criticism."
Does it mean he is likely to be criticized by fans, or that he is more affected (than his teammates) by fan criticism?
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Context: sports.

"After recent poor performance, he is susceptible to fan criticism."
Does it mean he is likely to be criticized by fans, or that he is more affected (than his teammates) by fan criticism?

I think they mean that it is likely to happen. In reality, anyone is susceptible to criticism, however well they perform but I imagine in this context, it's more likely to happen due to his poor performance.
 

Jacka

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
United States
Looking at a slightly different example:
"He is susceptible to flattery."

Does it mean he is easily fooled by fake praises, or he is more likely to be praised than others?
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
It's probably more likely to mean that he he responds well to flattery; his behaviour may be affected by it.
 

Jacka

New member
Joined
Oct 8, 2011
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Korean
Home Country
South Korea
Current Location
United States
"X is susceptible to Y" could mean either:

1. The probability of Y happening to X is now higher.
2. Y now has a greater affect on X.

Criticism and flattery are perfect opposites, yet they bring out different meanings of "susceptible to".

I am so confused.
 
Last edited:

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
"Susceptible [to sb/sth] very likely to be influenced, harmed or affected by sb/th" - OALD.

The precision meaning of many words is often unclear when considered with insufficent context. If we have only the words "After recent poor performance, he is susceptible to fan criticism", then we have no idea of knowing exactly what the speaker/writer intends to mean.

But then 'no' can mean 'no', 'I am surprised', 'I am shocked','I don't think so', 'yes', or many other things in context.
 
Last edited:

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
"X is susceptible to Y" could mean either:

1. The probability of Y happening to X is now higher.
2. Y now has a greater affect on X.

Criticism and flatter are perfect opposites, yet they bring out different meanings of "susceptible to".

I am so confused.

It all depends on context. "Susceptible to..." might mean exactly the same thing whether it's used with "criticism" or "flattery" but the context would tell you which one. As always, this isn't an exact science!
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Two great minds ...
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
"Susceptibele [to sb/sth] very likely to be influenced, harmed or affected by sb/th" - OALD.

The precision meaning of many words is often unclear when considered with insufficent context. If we have only the words "After recent poor performance, he is susceptible to fan criticism", then we have no idea of knowing exactly what the speaker/writer intends to mean.

But then 'no' can mean 'no', 'I am surprised', 'I am shocked','I don't think so', 'yes', or many other things in context.

I think claiming that "no" can mean "yes" in certain contexts might get you into trouble with some people! ;-)
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
I think claiming that "no" can mean "yes" in certain contexts might get you into trouble with some people! ;-)
And some extreme feminists caused a stir not too long ago by claiming that a woman's 'yes' could mean 'no'.:-?
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
And some extreme feminists caused a stir not too long ago by claiming that a woman's 'yes' could mean 'no'.:-?

I wouldn't take any notice of what "extremists" say, no matter what they're extreme about.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
Moderation in all things - but don't take moderation to extremes!
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top