[Vocabulary] crave/hanker/yearn/thirst/hunger: coorect constructions

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milan2003_07

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Hello,

I decided to merge two or three threads in one because the words and related constructions I'm asking about are closely connected with each other and it would be easier for all of us to consider them altogether. Please tell me if the following sentences are correct:

He is craving cigarettes several times a day
He is craving for cigarettes several times a day
He is craving after cigarettes several times a day
He has a craving for cigarettes several times a day
He has a craving after cigarettes several times a day

He is hankering a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
He is hankering after a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
He is hankering for a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
He has a hankering for a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
He has a hankering after a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
He hankers to have a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it

He is yearning for a good holiday abroad
He is yearning after a good holiday abroad
He is yearning to have a good holiday abroad

He is thirsting/hungering for a good holiday abroad
He is thirsting/hungering after a good holiday abroad
He is thirsting/hungering to have a good holiday abroad

Thanks
 

milan2003_07

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Please help me with my examples :)
 

5jj

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1. He is craving cigarettes several times a day
2. He is craving for cigarettes several times a day
3. He is craving after cigarettes several times a day
4. He has a craving for cigarettes several times a day

5. He has a craving after cigarettes several times a day

For me, only only #4 is possible; even in 4, I would replace 'cigarettes' with 'a cigarette.


1. He is hankering a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
2. He is hankering after a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
3. He is hankering for a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
4. He has a hankering for a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
5. He has a hankering after a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
6. He hankers to have a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it

#1 is not acceptable. The main clauses in the others are fine, but the subordinate clauses are not. The only natural version that occurs to me is, "but he knows he'll never get/have one".


1. He is yearning for a good holiday abroad
2. He is yearning after a good holiday abroad
3. He is yearning to have a good holiday abroad
#1 and #3 are fine.

He is thirsting/hungering for a good holiday abroad
He is[STRIKE] thirsting[/STRIKE]/hungering after a good holiday abroad
He is thirsting/hungering to have a good holiday abroad

All fine.

Well, that's my opinion.

I have to say, milan, that all of them have a slightly 'literary' feel about them. They are not what you'd normally expect to hear in a casual conversation in the pub. I also feel that the present simple is a more likely choice for the first verb in all these sentences - unless, of course you want to stress the limited duration of the desire.
 

milan2003_07

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1. He is craving cigarettes several times a day
2. He is craving for cigarettes several times a day
3. He is craving after cigarettes several times a day
4. He has a craving for cigarettes several times a day

5. He has a craving after cigarettes several times a day

For me, only only #4 is possible; even in 4, I would replace 'cigarettes' with 'a cigarette.

Why are all the rest except #4 are wrong? Is the grammar wrong or you dislike the context about cigarettes? I was wondering whether we can use "crave" with "for", "after" or other constructions with "have". I will post some more examples taken from a dictionary andb please tell me what you think about them:

A woman who is soon to have a child often craves for strange foods.
I can't seem to stop craving for cigarettes.
Kneeling before the king, the prisoner craved for mercy.
To crave a pardon for neglect
If only she had shown her daughter the love she craved
There may be certain times of day when smokers crave their cigarette...
You may be craving for some fresh air.

I posted so many examples to help you explain and me understand what grammar should be used with "crave". Can we "crave something", "crave for something" and "crave after something"? Can we "crave to do something"? Can we "have a craving after something?"

If it's too boring for you to clarify each sentence above you can just tick those you approve of and cross out the ones you dislike. However please tell me about the general grammar allowed with "to crave".

1. He is hankering a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
2. He is hankering after a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
3. He is hankering for a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
4. He has a hankering for a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
5. He has a hankering after a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it
6. He hankers to have a car, but he knows he'll hardly ever have it

#1 is not acceptable. The main clauses in the others are fine, but the subordinate clauses are not. The only natural version that occurs to me is, "but he knows he'll never get/have one".

Forget about clauses and focus on grammar only. In the dictionary I've found as follows:

This wet summer makes me hanker after a holiday in the sun
Even after all these years, I still hanker for a motorbike.
She hankered to go back

Three types of construction: "hanker for", "hanker after", and "hanker to do something". Unfortunately no examples containing "have a hankering for/after something", but please tell me which constructions are possible at all.

1. He is yearning for a good holiday abroad
2. He is yearning after a good holiday abroad
3. He is yearning to have a good holiday abroad
#1 and #3 are fine.

You think "yearn after something" is wrong?

He is thirsting/hungering for a good holiday abroad
He is[STRIKE] thirsting[/STRIKE]/hungering after a good holiday abroad
He is thirsting/hungering to have a good holiday abroad


"Thirst after something" is wrong?
 

5jj

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Frankly , Milan, you ask too many questions at one time.

It’s not just a matter of ticking those I (or anybody else) approves of. I don’t actually approve of any of them!

It’s more a matter of trying to decide whether a native speaker is likely to say them. Then comes the problem of explaining why, if the answer is ‘no’ It’s often a matter of personal feeling rather than absolute grammatical fact.

Others may disagree with my original feelings, and it will be interesting to see what they say, but I feel that I have contributed all that I usefully can at present.
 

milan2003_07

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Frankly , Milan, you ask too many questions at one time.

It’s not just a matter of ticking those I (or anybody else) approves of. I don’t actually approve of any of them!

It’s more a matter of trying to decide whether a native speaker is likely to say them. Then comes the problem of explaining why, if the answer is ‘no’ It’s often a matter of personal feeling rather than absolute grammatical fact.

Others may disagree with my original feelings, and it will be interesting to see what they say, but I feel that I have contributed all that I usefully can at present.

I know that it's hard to answer many questions at once, but I'd like to ask you to summon all your mental energy and knowledge and try to give answers. Your replies are always logical and clear when you mention facts. As a native you definitely know what is best and what is not. However as a learner I first need to know if a version is grammatically correct or not. That's important because if I encounter some phrase in the context, I will have to decide upon its correctness and only then think about style. So please if it's not too hard for you clarify your point with the help of my questions. You can do this gradually - half today, half tomorrow, for example. Time isn't crucial. The result is.

I greatly appreciate your help.
 

5jj

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As a native you definitely know what is best and what is not. However as a learner I first need to know if a version is grammatically correct or not.

Actually, I don't.

I use the words crave, hanker, yearn, thirst, hunger comparatively rarely, and I don't see or hear them very often. Whilst I am reasonably sure that 'I am craving upon a cigarette' is unacceptable, I honestly don't know about 'He is craving cigarettes several times a day'. It appears to be grammatically correct, but I know that I wouldn't say it, and I don't know how others regard it.

'Colourless green ideas sleep furiously' is grammatically acceptable, but it's not a sentence you're likely to need very often.

If you go to Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)
and search 'crave', you will find 1039 citations (and 1206 citations for 'craving'). reading through these will give you a far better idea of what people actually say and write than my opinion would.


 

MiaCulpa

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'Colourless green ideas sleep furiously' is grammatically acceptable, but it's not a sentence you're likely to need very often.

In general, I absolutely agree.

In particular, I think you've begun an uncommon poem--perhaps about autumn-sown seed? ;-)
 
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5jj

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In general, I absolutely agree.

In particular, I think you've begun an uncommon poem--perhaps about autumn-sown seed? ;-)
Let's try to complete it:

Colourless green ideas furiously sleep;
As sprouting time appears, the slumber deep
Of pallid seeds by lively dreams
Of future needs awakened seems.
 
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milan2003_07

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Thanks for your contributions, but I'm still not satisfied because I wanted you to comment upon each sentence in my post #1. If it's too exhausting to expalin your choice every time, please just tick the sentences you redard as correct and cross out those you think are incorrect or stylistically unacceptable.
 

5jj

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Thanks for your contributions, but I'm still not satisfied because I wanted you to comment upon each sentence in my post #1. If it's too exhausting to expalin your choice every time, please just tick the sentences you redard as correct and cross out those you think are incorrect or stylistically unacceptable.
No.
See posts #5 and #7.
 
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