unravel

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YAMATO2201

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2016
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Student or Learner
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
A team led by a Prenstom University researcher went to extraordinary lengths to unravel the propulsion mechanism of the crashed UFO.

Is this sentence correct?
 
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RobertJ said:
To an extent, yes. I would prefer "------to unravel the mystery of the propulsion mechanism ----". It depends on whether they have the hardware in hand. If it is in hand I would use a different word than 'unravel'.
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I was assuming that they had the hardware in hand, but I couldn't find a better word than "unravel".

Incidentally, do the following sentences work for you?

1) She is still trying to unravel the mystery of his sudden death.

2) He went to great lengths to unravel the secret of the UFO program.

3) They went to any lengths to unravel the intricacy of the plasma generator of the crashed UFO.
 
YAMATO, always tell us the source and author of any text you quote, please.
 
Thank you. Then say 'Is my sentence correct?' or 'Is this sentence of mine correct?'
 
Rover_KE said:
Thank you. Then say 'Is my sentence correct?' or 'Is this sentence of mine correct?'
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Can I use the following sentences?

1) Are my sentences correct?

2) Are these sentences of mine correct?

3) Is the following sentence of mine correct?

4) Are the following sentences of mine correct?
 
Yes – if you have written more than one sentence.
 
RobertJ said:
Yes, they're OK, except 'any' doesn't work well in 3). I suggest you use 'great' also in that sentence.
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I had thought that "go to any lengths (to do something)" and "go to great lengths (to do something)" were interchangeable before I read that response because they are both erroneously translated as the same Japanese phrase in my favorite English-Japanese dictionary, but now I think I understand why the "any" does not work well in 3). :-D
 
I remember reading this phrase in another thread - "go to unprecedented lengths". I think "great lengths" is more natural.
 
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tedmc said:
I think "great lengths" is more natural.
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You are right. Incidentally, do you ever use an English-Chinese dictionary?
 
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