Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[missdaredevil]

In various alternate universes, his three best friends Kayleigh , Lenny and Tommy wind up *by turns *happy or psychotic or even dead.



=by turns one after the other, alternately

I'm still confused. Could anyone use it in another sentence?

Thanks

[CP]

Although it sounds like it means that the things come in a certain order, then repeated, it usually means that they all occur, but not necessarily in any particular order.

A typical example: "Loulou comes to class by turns giggly, weepy, singing, or sullen."

In your example, instead of applying it to one person, it is applied to three. So one of them ends up happy, one psychotic, and one dead.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[missdaredevil]

1.Here in the US the federal government gives employers the right to monitor all emplyee email, instant messaging and internet *activitiy*
not *activities*?

Thanks

[LucentShade]

[kerstin]

[bud]

"By turns" does not indicate anything specifically. It's more of an indication of randomness: At least one of those things happens to each of them, in no particular order. More than one thing could happen to any of them.