Show Behavior

[beerr]

The first sentence is good English:

1 "The students showed disrespect toward the teacher."
2 "The students showed inappropriate behavior toward the teacher."

Is the second sentence also good?

 

[probus]

2 is perfectly okay.

 

[beerr]

Could I also write: "The students showed misbehavior toward the teacher."

 

[Barb_D]

Gosh, I disagree. I don't find it natural at all. Their behavior toward their teacher was disrespectful. But to "show" behavior is something I'd never say or write.

It's much simpler to simply say "The students were disrespectful to their teacher."

 

[probus]

I am surprised by your response but as you are a professional writer I defer to your grasp of the AmE idiom. Admittedly I can't find much in support of "showed". But there is quite a bit of support for "exhibited."

https://www.google.ca/search?safe=o...s=100...0...1.1.37.serp..2.9.1335.-nYPXVjZH6g

 

[Raymott]

I defer to your grasp of the AmE idiom.

I'm not sure that being American enters into it. I don't like it much either. The OP could scrape by with it, but it's less than perfect.
"exhibit behavior toward" gets a much less enthusiastic response on Google, so perhaps "showing something toward somebody" is at the root of the problem. This leads me to question 1. as well - though it is commonly used.

 

[emsr2d2]

OP has been banned, I notice. Thread closed.