Marcio_Osorio

"It is precisely at this point that I think other writers in this area have overlooked a possibility."

On the statement above. What does the "It is precisely at this point that" part translate to?


"Other writers in this area, I think, have overlooked a possibility precisely at this point"? -- Whether my attempt at EP falls short of expectation or comes as a pitiful, short-lived attempt, I still like EP better than standard English!

Thank you for your response.

Weetabix

You came up with effectively the translation that originally occurred to me.

EP may fall a bit short of standard English in its decreased flexibility for placing emphasis where you want it by placing something at one particular point in a sentence.

Your first sentence seems to emphasize "precisely at this point." The translation lessens that emphasis, I think.

You might also say, "Precisely at this point, I think, other writers have overlooked a possibility."

Karen

Weetabix, I don't see the difference of whether you use the precisely at the beginning or the middle of the sentence. The definition of precise means exact, so the placement of this word does not matter.

Weetabix

I find that, even though the definition of the specific word remains unchanged, you can draw a reader's or hearer's attention to a specific point or provide a different connotation more readily by changing word placement.

Try this for an auditory example:

I never said you stole the money.

Repeat this sentence several times, but each time, over emphasize one of the words, and listen to how the meaning of the sentence appears to change:

I never said you stole the money. (implies someone else said it)

I never said you stole the money. (reinforces that I didn't say it)

I never said you stole the money. (implies that I believe it though I didn't say it)

I never said you stole the money. (implies that I believe someone else stole it)

I never said you stole the money. (implies that although you didn't steal it, I think you misused it somehow)

I never said you stole the money. (implies that I think you stole something even if you didn't steal the money)

Do you see how the sense changes? I meant to convey that you can do that to a lesser extent with the written word by word or phrase placement.

Marcio's first sentence appears to emphasize the point at which the missing occurred. The second seems to dilute that point.

Karen

Yes,Weetabix, and when I read what you wrote, I thought maybe you meant how people emphasize a word. But, you did not write that in your comment to Marcio. I went solely on the meaning of the word. If we had to look at a written sentence and think about how one might say this sentence, we would come up with all kinds of different meanings. Possibly the way you read Marcio's sentence diluted your meanings. As for me, I read it with the same meaning.

Marcio_Osorio

Weetabix and Karen, thank you both for providing me with the translation.

lizard

At this very point, other writers in this area have overlooked a possibility.

__________________


-Lizard

Can eprime help us write better?

Marcio_Osorio

l, thank you for your translation.

m, who hasn't run out of thanks.

TheMisfortuneTeller

We can often save ourselves a lot of needless trouble by simply striking out expletive constructions (and associated verbiage) before proceeding to restructure sentences into more concise -- and thus more easily readable -- alternatives. For example, from The Beacon Handbook, by Robert Perrin:

"Eliminate expletive constructions whenever possible. Expletive constructions (it is, here is, here are, there is, and there are) provide patterned subjects and verbs that use words needlessly. Because sentences with expletives generally contain words that [we can use] as primary subjects and verbs, strike out the expletive construction and examine the remaining words. You may discover a more concise way to present the same idea by adding a verb, or you may only need to strike out a relative pronoun."

In the example sentence that began this thread, we can immediately strike out the expletive construction and its accompanying relative pronoun (i.e., "this is ... that") saving three unnecessary words in the process. Then, we should consider -- again from The Beacon Handbook, that:

"Some phrases -- such as in my opinion, I believe, it seems, and I suppose -- add very little meaning to a sentence. Because readers expect to find writers' opinions and educated guesses in writing, such phrases serve no real purpose."

So, now we can strike out the "I think" from the example sentence, saving two more unnecessary words. This leaves us with:

"Precisely at this point, other writers in this area have overlooked a possibility."

Without even mentioning E-Prime or General Semantics (if even aware of the subjects in the first place) most English grammar-and-usage references advocate eliminating many be-form inflections on the basis of clarity and conciseness alone. Generally, the fewer words a reader needs to process, the sooner he or she can determine if the sentences in question make any sense.

Additionally, and with no mention of E-Prime or General Semantics, The Beacon Handbook also recommends:

"When possible, eliminate to be verbs [i.e., be-form inflections] in favor of stronger ones. Many words in English have several forms. For instance [we call] maintain ... a verb, maintenance ... a noun, and maintaining ... a gerund. Using these word modifications wisely can reduce the number of words in your sentences. To achieve conciseness in this way, look closely at sentences using to be in any of its forms [i.e., be-form inflections]. If possible, transform the words following the [ be-form inflection] into a more forceful verb and reduce the number of words in the sentence."

Following the above, generally accepted guidelines goes a long way towards achieving at least some E-Prime objectives. Achieving the full range of E-Prime effectiveness, however, requires a deeper appreciation of General Semantics as well a determined committment to put the principles of non-Identity, non-Allness, and Self-Reflexiveness into daily practice. Every formulated sentence and paragraph counts, therefore, either to replace a bad semantic habit with a better one or to go on reinforcing unreflective error.

__________________
"If it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic." -- Tweedledee

aionkinahwowgold

Employees spent on average about 1.5 hours on personal interests during working hour with company computers. They surf on shopping sites, personal emails, IM chats, etc. So it is of great importance to monitor and discipline their online doingswith employee computer monitoring software. EAM is a smart Internet monitoring programout there that can be of great hrlp in this case.

Ann.English@clear.net.nz

"So it is of great importance to monitor "
I place great importance on monitoring ...
[or] Monitoring plays an important role ...
[or] Important! Monitor ...


" EAM is a smart ... Internet monitoring program that can be of great hrlp in this case.[/quote]

Monitor with EAM, a smart and very helpful program.

---------- Post added at 06:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:28 PM ----------

By the way, "it is precisely at this point" translates as "here" or "right here".

Marcio_Osorio

Nice translation. Thank you, Ann.

On the spammers' side. It'll take some time before they advertise their ware in E-Prime.