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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2007How to explain you use "what" in this sentence?
Hi, Another question popped up, and I need your help. Here is the context for your reference. Other than green fields and grazing cattle, in the quiet rural area of Pennsylvania, one may find a very special town called Chocolate Town. Built by Milton S. Hershey and his employees, Chocolate Town is a dream come true of anyone who loves Hershey's chocolate. As ____ Disneyland is to Disney fans, thousands of tourists come to the small town Hershey's Chocolate Tour. The tour offers people not only a chance to see how chocolate is made, but also a chance to taste it.... a) what b) when c) who d) whom e) x The answer is (a), but I find it hard to explain why I used "what" here. Then I wonder if I could also choose e) as well. I am also not sure how to explain the meaning of "as" in this sentence. Does it serve as a preposition or a conjunction? Sometimes a simple sentence in English really confuses us. Hope you can understand that. Thanks a lot. Take care, gloria >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >gloria ===================================================== Answer : none of the above. Your comparison would be better expressed :: "Just as Disneyfans flock to Disneyland, so thousands of tourists .. &c" HTH  SignatureFrancis Cameron >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >as a preposition or a conjunction? Sometimes a simple sentence in >English really confuses us. Hope you can understand that. Thanks a lot. It's a badly written sentence using any of the choices. The choice of "what" is terribly wrong. I can't even think of what "x" could be that would make the sentence comprehensible. SignatureTony Cooper Orlando, FL >>Hi, >> [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > "what" is terribly wrong. I can't even think of what "x" could be that > would make the sentence comprehensible. It makes me wonder about the publisher. The best I can make of it is that the comparison is overstated, and that *what* is asked to function as an additional *As*, although it isn't needed. Joanne > > Other than green fields and grazing cattle, in the quiet rural > >area of Pennsylvania, one may find a very special town called Chocolate [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > > >a) what b) when c) who d) whom e) x > It's a badly written sentence using any of the choices. The choice of > "what" is terribly wrong. I can't even think of what "x" could be that > would make the sentence comprehensible. That is what is so funny about these test questions. 1) Start with a badly written sentence. 2) Leave out a word. 3) Ask the test taker to select the word which fits least badly. GFH >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > >gloria Wow. I don't like any of the choices. Three are downright wrong ("when", "who", and "whom",) one completely baffles me ("x" - what does that mean? that nothing should go in the blank?) and the fifth, well, it's bad too, but I can't point at a rule that says it's flat-out wrong. It's clunky and awkward, though. As the original sentence is cast, there isn't a right answer. "As Disneyland is to Disney fans..." is the first element of a comparison. But there's no second part. This kind of use of "as" should set up a parallel construction: "As Disneyland is to Disney fans, so Chocolate Town is to chocolate lovers. Thousands of tourists..." If you don't want the comparative aspect, "as" rarely stands alone. "As for," "as in," "as per," "as to" serve as conjunctions. SignaturePosted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com "what" is not the answer to the question! > Chocolate Town is a dream come true of anyone who loves Hershey's chocolate. Surely this should be: Chocolate Town is a dream come true ***to*** anyone who loves Hershey's chocolate? Gloria0, I hope you are not paying for the English instruction you are getting from whoever set that question? If so, I strongly advise you to ask for your money back! > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > as a preposition or a conjunction? Sometimes a simple sentence in > English really confuses us. Hope you can understand that. Thanks a lot. OK, now to answer the question. Simplify the sentence in question. "Disneyland is ??? to Disney fans." Now it becomes clear that 1) "what" is the answer and 2) why some word is required. Many words would fit, but of the choices given, only "what" is acceptable. "When" implies time; "who" and "whom" imply a person; I do not know what "x" implies, but then again, I do not watch Star Wars. GFH > OK, now to answer the question. Simplify the sentence in question. > "Disneyland is ??? to Disney fans." Now it becomes clear that 1) [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > then > again, I do not watch Star Wars. I find people who start answers to questions with "OK" rather annoying. It hints at a frequently unjustified cocky self importance. (Nothing to do with where they generally come from. Oh no.) Sorry, George, but what you wrote is -- as we say here in RightPondia -- "bollocks". "Simplify the sentence?" Why? The query is about answering the test question as stated, by inserting the "right" word in the blank space, not about rewriting it. You are saying that the sentence should read: As what Disneyland is to Disney fans, thousands of tourists come to the small town Hershey's Chocolate Tour. Others here have pointed out that it is crashingly ungrammatical, and does not actually make any sense. What you need to remember is that "You can't polish a turd", or more succinctly, "garbage in, garbage out". The person who concocted the test question had a much less than sufficient grasp of English. OK? > > OK, now to answer the question. Simplify the sentence in question. > > "Disneyland is ??? to Disney fans." Now it becomes clear that 1) [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > I find people who start answers to questions with "OK" rather annoying. No, it implies that I have mad another post which does not answer the original question. > It hints at a frequently unjustified cocky self importance. No, thoroughly justified. > "Simplify the sentence?" Why? Because many people, including native speakers, are confused by a sentence constuction which includes a question or a subordinate clause. If the portion of the sentence in question is changed into a simple declarative sentence, the answer frequently becomes clear. > WhenThe query is about answering the test question as stated, > by inserting the "right" word in the blank space, not about rewriting > it. I wrote about how to determine the "right" answer, not about rewriting the sentence. That was my earlier post. And you remembered! Wow! A personal breakthrough, I am sure. I could not bring myself to read the rest of your post. Dull is dull. GFH And lo, gloria0402@gmail.com <gloria0402@gmail.com> emerged from the ether and spake thus: > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > gloria Can I just rewrite this whole thing so it's *ahem* better? In a quiet rural area of Pennsylvania one may find--other than green fields and grazing cattle--a very special town called Chocolate Town. Built by Milton S. Hershey and his employees, Chocolate Town is a dream come true for anyone who loves Hershey's chocolate. Just as thousands of Disney fans flock to Disneyland, so thousands of tourists come to Hershey's small northeastern town to take the Chocolate Tour. The tour offers people not only a chance to see how chocolate is made, but also a to taste it.... There is a lot more opportunity for improvement here, but I didn't want to start completely from scratch. You have a few missing words and awkward phrasings in your original, one of which contributed to the very question you were posting about. SignatureAaron http://www.fisheyegallery.com http://www.singleservingphoto.com > Can I just rewrite this whole thing so it's *ahem* better? No, it is a test. All of the sentences are poor. They is not the question. The question is 'which word fits this really bad sentence better than any of the other words suggested'. GFH |
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