I had a happy life in my university, especially when I was living in the dormitory.

[kachibibb]

I had a happy life in my university, especially when I was living in the school dormitory.


Do native speakers find the above sentence strange? The first clause talks about the life in the university as a whole, but the second clause is not about the life in the main campus in general but in the campus' dormitory.

 

[emsr2d2]

It's understandable but not very natural.

I enjoyed university life, particularly when I was living in halls.

"Halls" is the word used in BrE for accommodation provided by a university, usually only available during a student's first year. After that, they're expected to rent private accommodation. Don't mix "university" and "school" if you're using BrE. They're never the same thing.

 

[kachibibb]

Ok thank you!

Is "especially" wrong so you use "particularly"? What is the mistake if yes?

 

[SoothingDave]

"Dorm" is commonly used in AmE. The full word "dormitory" is rarely used.

And "halls" are where classes/lectures are held, not where students live.

 

[emsr2d2]

OK. Thank you!

Is "especially" wrong? [STRIKE]so[/STRIKE] Is that why you used "particularly"? If so, what [STRIKE]is[/STRIKE] was the mistake? [STRIKE]if yes?[/STRIKE]

Sorry, my response was a bit misleading. I thought you'd used "particularly" in your original so I thought I was using the same word as you! You can use "especially" too.

 

[kachibibb]

Sorry I have one additional question about the main question.

Now I understand I can add one more clause after the main clause to enlarge or limit the scope of the main clause. But, see below:

I had a fruitful, happy life in my university, particularly when I was living in the hall/ dorm.

If I add "fruitful" in the first clause, does this make a problem for the second clause? The second clause is narrowing the scope of university life to the dorm life. But "fruitful" is not suitable for dorm life right?

What I ask is, if I use more than one adjective in the first clause, must ALL adjectives be applicable to what I write in the second clause? Now, "happy" surely has no problem for "dorm life" but "fruitful" sounds a bit strange. But while both adjectives are used to describe university life as a whole, which has no problem, do you native speakers automatically leave "fruitful" and just have "happy" in mind when reading the "dorm life" clause?

 

[tedmc]

I don't find fruit, happy life in my university natural, not that there's anything wrong. There is no hard and fast rule about using adjectives. You started with the general and make a point about one particular aspect, which is fine.

I think a bit of rewording might make it more natural: I had a fruitful and happy time/experience at university...