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river1974
Joined: 20 May 2003
Posts: 525
Location: Taiwan
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 Posted: Tue May 10, 2005 6:51 pm Post subject: argue |
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Dear teachers:
(a)He often argued with his father.
(b)He often argued against his father.
Is (b) correct?
Thanks. |
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helen1
Joined: 24 Nov 2004
Posts: 115
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| Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 9:30 am Post subject: |
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Hi River -
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| (b)He often argued against his father |
yes b) is correct - 'argue' here does not mean shouting or disagreeing directly with each other (hope that makes sense) it means, he and his father have different opinions on something and he speaks/argues against his fathers' opinion.
I really hope this makes sense - can anyone explain a little more clearly? |
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Bob S.
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
Posts: 1767
Location: So. Cal
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| Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 10:44 am Post subject: Re: argue |
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| river1974 wrote: |
(a)He often argued with his father.
(b)He often argued against his father.
Is (b) correct? |
Both are grammatically correct depending on the context. But a general rule of thumb is: you argue with a person; you argue against an idea. So (a) is the better choice.
The context where you would say you were arguing against a person would be if the two of you are trying to convince a third person of your respective ideas.
E.g. In the televised debate, Kerry argued against Bush and his policies. |
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bud
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US
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| Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 10:44 am Post subject: |
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| Well, this is no clearer (yours was clear) but it is different words: (a) implies screaming and shouting. (b) implies stating a different viewpoint, just as a lawyer would do. |
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river1974
Joined: 20 May 2003
Posts: 525
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Wed May 11, 2005 9:58 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank you all. I used to write "argue with the Examiner", but now I realize it is inappropriate. Mostly, we communicate with the Examiner via letters. In the letter, we simply state our viewpoints or opinions to convince the Examiner of the effectiveness of our application, no screaming and shouting. In this situation, I think writing "argue against the Examiner" is proper. |
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