Korean Job Discussion Forums

[raewon]

In the following passage, I'd select (b) for the answer. I think (a) sounds very awkward, but is it safe to rule out as wrong? Is there a grammar rule that could support eliminating choice (a)?

Karen West is a single parent who finds it hard to hold an office job and to put dinner on the table every night for her three kids. Usually she is so beat at the end of the day _____ she brings home chicken for them to eat. She decided that she had to do something.

(a) when
(b) that
(c) for
(d) since

Thanks for your help with this one. [/u]

[richardlang]

I'd say 'that'.

By the way, I read her name as Kanye West. So much for trying to read speedily....

[raewon]

Thank you for your reply. I would also... but how would I attempt to explain that "when" is wrong? I still need to convince myself of this.

[oskinny1]

Is she beat at the time she brings chicken home (when) or she is too beat to cook so gets takeout (that)?

I think you need to ask the author what they meant first.

[edwardcatflap]

I'm guessing on this one but I think the idea here is that they want the students to use the structure

so + adjective + that clause

e.g. she is so tired that she.......

However in normal speech people often use so + adjective without a that clause,

e.g. I was so drunk last night.

If the above sentence is acceptable the second choice of 'when' must also be acceptable as in

'I was so drunk last night when I got home'

Therefore I would venture that whoever set the question thinks 'b' is the correct answer, although I think most native speakers would accept that 'a' is also possible

[The Cosmic Hum]

[raewon]

Thanks for your kind reply Cosmic Hun (and everyone for that matter).

This question came from a friend who is studying for a proficiency exam. Perhaps the questions should be worded as "Choose the best answer~".
Then again, that would just open up a larger can of worms.

These types of questions remind me of the crossword puzzles which you can "solve" and win money. The makers of the puzzles insist that there's only one "acceptable/best" answer for each clue, but ...

[The Cosmic Hum]

[seonsengnimble]

Like cosmic Hun said, either that or when work grammatically. I'd still go with that, however. In the sentence "She was so beat that she brought home chicken every night," that implies that she brought home chicken because she was tired. When doesn't really make sense. When can mean either she was tired at the time she brought home chicken or that she was tired because she brought home chicken. I can't think of anything tiring about bringing home chicken, and unless bringing home chicken is really important to her, there would be no need to include that detail in the sentence. Did she do a poor job bringing home the chicken?

[The Cosmic Hum]

[BreakfastInBed]

I basically agree with Seonsengnimble and The Cosmic Hum. In isolation, no answer is totally grammatically incorrect.

However, this question seems to be concerned solely with context and reading comprehension. A clear understanding of the implications of the first sentence is key. Karen is having difficulty doing two things on the same day. First, working, then putting dinner on the table.

In the question, the first sentence sets up a problem, the second provides an example, the third a type of resolution (she has made a decision even if none of us know what it will entail). There is only one choice we can make for this three sentence unit to make sense: A causes B. Karen is tired at the end of the day (A), causing her to provide an inadequate dinner (B). As an example, this mirrors the order of the first sentence which established the situation.

"When" is time related and purely conjunctive. There is no causal relationship between A and B. This neither follows logically from the preceding sentence, nor explicitly details the need for resolution found in the following sentence.

Both "for" and "since," here, mean that A was caused by B. Not likely, since A occurred before B -assuming "at the end of the day" means "after work."

"That" is the only answer that means A caused B, and is the only one that renders the entire three sentence unit a unified, meaningful thought.

I think.

[seonsengnimble]

What are you guys talking about? When can be causal.

"I'm happy when I sing."
"I only sleep when I take sedatives."
"When I eat cake, I feel terrible."

Granted, when is not directly causal like since and for, but it has an element of causation. Time is implied, but the stronger sentiment is causation.

[The Cosmic Hum]