the beauty with....

[navi tasan]

Are these sentences correct:

1) The good thing with him is that he is very patient.

2) The good thing with him is that you can criticize him.

3) The beauty with that player is that he always anticipates his opponent's move.
4) The beauty with his game is that he always anticipates his opponent's move.


I'd say '2' works. '1' is sort of OK. '3' and '4' don't work.

In '4' I would replace 'with' with 'of'.
In '1' and '2' I would replace it with 'about'.
I don't know if '3' can be saved.

Gratefully,
Navi.

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you very much, Allenman,

I have to say that this way of using 'with' has always sounded a bit strange to me. 'With' to me implies some kind of relationship, so it works well in '2'. In '3' and '4' we are talking about a beauty that belongs to the player and his game. To me that usage is strange. But I am not a native speaker. If the sentences sound natural to you, then who am I to complain?!

Do you see any difference between:

4) The beauty with his game is that he always anticipates his opponent's move.
4a) The beauty of his game is that he always anticipates his opponent's move.
4b) The beauty about his game is that he always anticipates his opponent's move.



Gratefully,
Navi.

 

[tedmc]

I would not use the word "beauty" to describe the way a player plays his game.

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

The use of "beauty" here, relates to definition 2.3 at: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/beauty

Of your three examples, I find the first two to be more natural than the third one.

 

[Rover_KE]

allenman, yet again I have deleted your post for the reason shown.

This is a pity, as all your contributions have had considerable merit.​

​

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you all for your contributions,

Rover, if Allenman is a native speaker and his (I am assuming that 'Allenman' is a man) contributions are good, can't you just promote him to the rank of teacher.

He is a native speaker and he knows what he is doing.

Tedmc is neither a native speaker nor a teacher as far as I can see. Not that I have anything particular against his making posts, but I prefer Allenman's replies. In general, I tend to trust native speakers' acquired instincts.

In any case, this was just a suggestion. I hope it won't be taken badly.

Respectfully,
Navi.

 

[Rover_KE]

We cannot promote contributors to the rank of teacher.

You will have observed that a number of highly respected native-speaking members with an excellent command of the language but who are not qualified or certificated teachers are happy to comply with the forum rule, and state 'Not a teacher' in their signature line, with or without further background information.

Have you wondered, as I do, why allenman consistently neglects to do this?

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you very much, Rover,

I see your point. It doesn't take much to type 'not a teacher' on the bottom of a post. I did not know that he persistently refused to do so.
I think I owe you an apology. My objection was foundation-less. It is more logical to ask one person to mention the fact that he is not a teacher than to change the forum rules for the sake of that person.

I had neither noticed that, nor wondered why, he consistently refused to say that he is not a teacher. My first reaction would be to say that he is forgetful. If that is not the case, then I would assume that he has an 'anti-establishment' streak in him. If that is not the case either, then I would consider him an interesting character. I do write stories from time to time. In another language. On another planet. Keep me posted if you pierce the secret!

I like his replies though. And he is kind enough to reply to my questions. So, he can't be a bad person. But he might be an interesting character nonetheless!!

Gratefully,
Navi.

 

[Barb_D]

Are these sentences correct:

1) The good thing with him is that he is very patient. I agree that it should be "The good thing about him..."

2) The good thing with him is that you can criticize him. I agree that it should be "The good thing about him..."

3) The beauty with that player is that he always anticipates his opponent's move. I agree that this sentence may not be salvageable.

4) The beauty with his game is that he always anticipates his opponent's move. I agree that "The beauty of his game is that..."

Just my two cents.

 

[Rover_KE]

I see your point. It doesn't take much to type 'not a teacher' on the bottom of a post. I did not know that he persistently refused to do so.

I did not say that allenman 'persistently refused to do so'. I said he 'consistently neglects to do so'.

If he actively refused to comply with the rule he would be banned. I keep hoping he will do as he has been asked.

 

[navi tasan]

Thank you very much, Barb_D and Rover,

Yes, you did say consistently. Sorry.

I hope he will comply with the rules as well. I find his replies excellent.

Gratefully,
Navi.