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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010Life is convenient where I live
Ladies and Gentlemen: Considering the following: There are many eateries, a library, a post office, a few convenience stores, photocopy stores, and grocery stores in the neighborhood. -- Apart from specifying what are in the neighborhood, are the brief expressions that I can use to fill in the blanks in the following sentences to mean that life is convenient where I live? I live in close proximity to _______. _______ are convenient from the apartment building. Best Wishes, Tacia "Tacia": > Considering the following: > There are many eateries, a library, a post office, a few > convenience stores, photocopy stores, and grocery stores in the > neighborhood. ... > I live in close proximity to _______. > _______ are convenient from the apartment building. I'd say "stores and services" or "shops and services".  SignatureMark Brader | "In the land of truth, my friend, Toronto | the man with one fact is king." msb@vex.net | --"In the Loop", Jesse Armstrong et al. > Ladies and Gentlemen: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > Best Wishes, > Tacia I think the most common way to say that would be to list the categories. I suppose you could say close to many amenities or services. SignatureCheryl Mark Brader wrote: > I'd say "stores and services" or "shops and services". -- > I think the most common way to say that would be to list the categories. > > I suppose you could say close to many amenities or services. Thank you for the swift replies! Tacia > Ladies and Gentlemen: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > I live in close proximity to _______. > _______ are convenient from the apartment building. I don't really like "are convenient from" although I find it hard to formalise my objections. "The apartment building is convenient for _____________________" I find entirely blameless. SignatureOnline waterways route planner | http://canalplan.eu Plan trips, see photos, check facilities | http://canalplan.org.uk > Ladies and Gentlemen: > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > I live in close proximity to _______. > _______ are convenient from the apartment building. I think "____ are convenient to the apartment building" is more common. "convenient from" sounds odd to me. [...] > I live in close proximity to . . . . Despite the astounding ubiquity of that phrase, I have as yet--search as I may--not been able to find any variety of proximity that is not close. SignatureCordially, Eric Walker, Owlcroft House http://owlcroft.com/english/ Eric Walker filted: >[...] > >> I live in close proximity to . . . . > >Despite the astounding ubiquity of that phrase, I have as yet--search as >I may--not been able to find any variety of proximity that is not close. It's a matter of degree, innit...there's "close proximity", "very close proximity", "not-so-close proximity", etc.... Like the varieties of beer Rainier used to market back in the late 60s: "Light", "Light Light" and "Not So Light"....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > [...] > [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > yet--search as I may--not been able to find any variety of proximity > that is not close. How did you search? Looking in Google Books, I see 288 published hits for "moderate proximity", 47 for "medium proximity", 406 for "distant proximity", and 155 for "far proximity". And, of course, 1,196 for "near proximity" SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |ActiveX is pretty harmless anyway. 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |It can't affect you unless you Palo Alto, CA 94304 |install Windows, and who would be |foolish enough to do that? kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | Peter Moylan (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> [...] >> [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > proximity", and 155 for "far proximity". And, of course, 1,196 for > "near proximity" You can even find "distant proximity" (along with "low height", "young age", "short length"). SignatureJames > > [...] > > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > proximity", and 155 for "far proximity". And, of course, 1,196 for > "near proximity" Google is your ultimate authority for questions of this sort? ? ? SignatureErilar, biblioholic medievalist http://www.chibardun.net/~erilarlo >>> [...] >>> [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Google is your ultimate authority for questions of this sort? ? ? Google gives you a good - albeit often sometimes frightening - idea of what people actually write. Google Books, which what Evan was talking about, gives you a good idea of what gets into print. The quotations that illustrate definitions in the OED follow a similar principle, but Google Books gives a more comprehensive coverage of actual usage. Very useful for antedating OED examples or for finding things the editors of the OED missed. SignatureJames > > [...] > [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > proximity", and 155 for "far proximity". And, of course, 1,196 for > "near proximity" Even so, I'd like "I live close to..." much better than "I live in close proximity too..." -- Jerry Friedman >Ladies and Gentlemen: > >Considering the following: > There are many eateries, a library, a post office, a few >convenience stores, photocopy stores, and grocery stores in the >neighborhood. I suggest "I live downtown". SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE Chuck Riggs filted: >> There are many eateries, a library, a post office, a few >>convenience stores, photocopy stores, and grocery stores in the >>neighborhood. > >I suggest "I live downtown". When I first moved to Phoenix, "downtown" was the area where any such places closed down promptly at 5pm, and there were no convenience stores or grocery stores....r SignatureA pessimist sees the glass as half empty. An optometrist asks whether you see the glass more full like this?...or like this? > Chuck Riggs filted: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > closed down promptly at 5pm, and there were no convenience stores or grocery > stores....r That's definitely the case in some very large cities still. You're a lot better off in many other parts of Los Angeles than the downtown area for such conveniences. >> Chuck Riggs filted: >> [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >lot better off in many other parts of Los Angeles than the downtown >area for such conveniences. The flight of businesses from downtown American towns and cities, as they migrate into nearby shopping centres and beyond, is a well-documented pity. To their credit, IMO, most Irish towns and cities have retained their downtowns, with adequate public transportation. In both Westport and Dublin, where I lived, a car would have been a nice-to-have at times, but I never found one to be a necessity. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs, An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE > > Ladies and Gentlemen: > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > I suggest "I live downtown". Is it necessary to live downtown to get such amenities? I would think a few handy shopping centers and such could easily provide them. Brian SignatureDay 367 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project |
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