Don't give millet

[Untaught88]

Hi

Is 'Don't give millet to your birds in summer because it's very hot' correct?

 

[Tarheel]

I would say:

Don't give millet to your birds in the summer, because they shouldn't eat it when it's hot outside.

 

[teechar]

Is 'Don't give millet to your birds in summer because it's very hot' correct?

If I didn't know otherwise, I would have thought you were saying "millet is hot".
Try:
Don't give your birds millet in hot weather.

 

[Tarheel]

If I didn't know otherwise, I would have thought you were saying "millet is hot".

That's exactly what I was thinking.

 

[Rover_KE]

Why shouldn't you give your birds millet when it's hot, untaught?

What should you give them instead?

 

[Untaught88]

As for roosters, I give them wheat in hot weather.

 

[Tarheel]

As for roosters, I give them wheat in hot weather.

And the hens get something else?

 

[Untaught88]

The same thing.

 

[Rover_KE]

Why would millet be bad for them?

 

[Untaught88]

Because millet is hot. We have a different word for 'hot' in our language which is 'taseer'. Millet 'taseer' is hot so we should avoid giving it in hot weather.

I googled 'taseer English' and found this word 'efficacy'. I'm not sure if it can be used that way.

 

[GoesStation]

Because millet is hot. We have a different word for 'hot' in our language which is 'taseer'. Millet 'taseer' is hot so we should avoid giving it in hot weather.

I googled 'taseer English' and found this word 'efficacy'. I'm not sure if it can be used that way.

"Hot" doesn't work. What quality of millet causes it to be described that way?

 

[Tarheel]

I wouldn't describe it as hot any more than any other grain. Or anything else for that matter. You could describe any food as "hot" because the body uses food to produce heat.

 

[GoesStation]

I wouldn't describe it as hot any more than any other grain. Or anything else for that matter. You could describe any food as "hot" because the body uses food to produce heat.

The meaning of "hot" is often extended to tending to produce heat. For example, gardeners describe organic material with a high concentration of nitrogen that way.

 

[teechar]

I wonder if this has to do with the similar (Chinese) idea of Yin and Yang. In Chinese (and other Asian) culture, some foods are perceived to produce "heat". For example, the pungent durian is hot, whereas the mangosteen is considered "cold".

 

[Untaught88]

So what should I use?

 

[teechar]

Who are your intended audience? Do they know what "hot foods" means?

 

[abaka]

The English word for a food that causes problems of digestion is dyspeptic. (Although this adjective also, and more usually, refers to people who suffer poor digestion or the bad temper that goes with it.)

Is this what you are trying to express?

"Don't give millet to your birds in summer, for it is dyspeptic."?

If you trying to say that millet will overheat the birds somehow, just say it:

Don't give millet to your birds in summer, for it will overheat them.

 

[teechar]

Apart from in some literary contexts, "for" is hardly ever used nowadays to mean "because".

Don't give millet to your birds in summer, for it will overheat them.

That sounds very unnatural.

 

[abaka]

If you have a problem with "for", just omit it and put a colon after the word "summer".

 

[teechar]

When did you retire abaka?

I advise learners to use "because".