Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[learner1]

Hello,

'He has decided to give up smoking.'

1.Could we use 'make a decision' , 'make up one's mind' or 'determine' instead of 'decide' here? e.g.

(1)'He has made a decision to give up smoking.'
(2)'He has made up his mind to give up smoking.'
(3)'He has determined to give up smoking.'
Do they all have the same meaning?
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2.Could we use 'quit' or 'get rid of' instead of 'give up' here? e.g.

(1)'He has decided to quit smoking.'
(2)'He has decided to get rid of smoking.'
Do they all have the same meaning?

Thank you very much.

[Mister Micawber]

.
#1-- all your sentences are OK and essentially synonymous.

#2-- The second is no good; it misuses 'get rid of', which requires some sort of solider object. He has decided to get rid of his habit of smoking is better, but still sounds a bit odd to my ear.
.
_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[learner1]

Hello Mister Micawber,

Thanks for your answer very much. I am still a bit confused about the word 'determine'.

1.Do you mean 'to determine' and 'to decide' don't have any difference?
According to dictionary, 'determined' means 'having a strong desire to do something, so that you will not let anyone stop you.' If I use it in the example:

'He is determined to give up smoking.'
Does it still have the same meaning as
'He has determined/decided to give up smoking'?
------------------------

2.'He has decided to give up football at the end of this season.'
Could we use 'quit' instead of 'give up' here?



Thank you very much.

[Mister Micawber]

.
1--

[learner1]

Hello Mister Micawber,

Thank you very much for helping me clear it up.
These two examples are from the dictionary:

1.'I asked them to quit talking.'
Is 'give up' fine instead of 'quit' here?

2.'After looking for her missing dog for a month, she gave up the search.
Is 'quit' fine instead of 'gave up' here?

Thank you very much.

[Mister Micawber]

.
1-- No. Give up generally means to quit forever.
2-- Yes.
.
_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[learner1]

Hello Mister Micawber,

Thank you very much for all your helpful answers.