the salad is yours to

Status
Not open for further replies.

navi tasan

Key Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
United States
Can one use:
1-The salad is yours to make.

instead of:
It is up to you to make the salad.

Can one use:
2-The kitchen is yours to clean.
instead of:
It is up to you to clean the kitchen.


The problem with '1' is that the salad does not even yet exist. I am not sure that '1' works at all.

I think '2' might be used, although I am not sure this is a good way to express the idea of obligation.

Gratefully,
Navi.
 

billmcd

Key Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Can one use:
1-The salad is yours to make.

instead of:
It is up to you to make the salad.

Can one use:
2-The kitchen is yours to clean.
instead of:
It is up to you to clean the kitchen.


The problem with '1' is that the salad does not even yet exist. I am not sure that '1' works at all. It doesn't exist yet in your "instead of" either. Your #'s 1 & 2 are not natural ways of expressing the statement.

I think '2' might be used, although I am not sure this is a good way to express the idea of obligation.

Gratefully,
Navi.

b.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Can one use:
1-The salad is yours to make.

instead of:
It is up to you to make the salad.

Can one use:
2-The kitchen is yours to clean.
instead of:
It is up to you to clean the kitchen.


The problem with '1' is that the salad does not even yet exist. I am not sure that '1' works at all.

I think '2' might be used, although I am not sure this is a good way to express the idea of obligation.

Gratefully,
Navi.

Both work for me. In the first, "to make" deals with the problem of the salad not currently existing.
 

UM Chakma

Member
Joined
Jul 17, 2013
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Bengali; Bangla
Home Country
Bangladesh
Current Location
Singapore
Hi Billmcd, What does really B mean? I often have seen here it used. Does it mean BEST or BOTH?
 

Nicklexoxo

Member
Joined
May 18, 2013
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Russian
Home Country
Russian Federation
Current Location
Russian Federation
I think "b" is the first letter in his nickname.

N.
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Hi Billmcd, What does really B mean? I often have seen here it used. Does it mean BEST or BOTH?

You cannot post a message if the only thing you have written is inside the quote. So, when we correct a quote we must also type at least one character outside the quote.
 

bhaisahab

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2008
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
Ireland
I don't find either one to be remotely natural.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I think "b" is the first letter in his nickname.

N.

You're right. We can't leave the message part completely blank. We must type at least one character so billmcd chooses to type a "b" because it is his first initial. You will notice that bhaisahab write "bhai" sometimes. If the response to a query is held inside the quote box, we have to write something outside it so some people choose to type their username or an abbreviation of it. In my case, when my response is typed inside the quote box, I type "See above".
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
I don't find either one to be remotely natural.

I agree with bhai.

This structure is used like this:

'I am sending you a sample CD of my new album, hoping you will review it for your magazine. Should you choose not to do so, the CD is yours to keep anyway.'

'Here's a cheque for £50. It's yours to buy whatever you want.'
 

MikeNewYork

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
I agree with bhai.

This structure is used like this:

'I am sending you a sample CD of my new album, hoping you will review it for your magazine. Should you choose not to do so, the CD is yours to keep anyway.'

'Here's a cheque for £50. It's yours to buy whatever you want.'

Consider an upset wife telling her husband: I have already cooked the roast, made the potatoes, and set the table. The salad is yours to make.

Works for me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top