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Vin21
Joined: 18 Jul 2005
Posts: 132
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 Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 7:04 am Post subject: |
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Bud,
I think I don't express myself very well all the time,and grammatical mistakes in the sentences abound.As a matter of fact, you're not discouraging me at all.But I just thought that if I rephrase an expression that it doesn't work well,I might as well not to do so,because it would make the sentence even awkward,right?
Thanks for your kindly help!  |
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Bob S.
Joined: 29 Apr 2004
Posts: 1767
Location: So. Cal
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:35 am Post subject: |
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| Vin21 wrote: |
These old coins are not worth the metal they are printed/molded on.
This machine is not worth the metal they are made from.
Something like that.. |
That reminds me of a story.
In the U.S., the penny coin (worth 1 cent) used to be made from pure copper. But because of inflation, the value of copper as a commodity went up to the point where a penny was literally not worth the metal it was stamped from. So around 1985 (not sure of the exact date), the U.S. mint started making pennies from an alloy of copper and cheaper zinc.
So you CAN alter the expression to meet the situation. But as Bud noted, you need to match the right verb to the example noun. I.e. The coin is not worth the metal it is stamped from.
| Blossom wrote: |
| His speech is not worth the noise it made. |
Oooo, given that noise is worthless, that is a very harsh judgement against his speech. A well crafted put-down. Good job, Blossom. 
You can add:
His speech was not worth the scrap paper he scribbled it on.
His speech was not worth the sleep I missed to attend it. |
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bud
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 2111
Location: New Jersey, US
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| Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 11:59 am Post subject: |
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| This was a great discussion, folks! |
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