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ESL Board>
preposition
navi
310 posts
Sep 08, 2008
8:31 AM
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Can one say:
1-In showing his emotions, he failed.
2-He failed in showing his emotions,
instead of:
1a-By showing his emotions, he failed.
2a-He failed by showing his emotions,(He was not supposed to show his emotions, but he did and therefore he failed.)
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TheMudge
The Real Mudge
2965 posts
Sep 08, 2008
10:05 AM
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None of these would express the meaning you intend. You would have to say, "He failed because he showed his emotions" or "Because he showed his emotions, he failed."
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Rich Turner (The Curmudgeon Himself)
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Sparky
804 posts
Sep 08, 2008
10:40 AM
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What did he fail at? I ask because I think there's a bit of difference if you're saying that he failed at some task because he showed his emotions (He did not get the job because he showed emotion.), or saying that his goal was not to show emotion, and he failed. If the first is your meaning, I agree with the Mudge. If the second is what you meant, I'd say something like "He failed to keep his emotions in check."
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navi
311 posts
Sep 08, 2008
12:21 PM
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Thanks Sparky and Mudge, Yes the idea was that he failed at some unspecified task because he showed his emotions, but now I know how to express both ideas!
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