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erik19283
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 144
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 Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2007 7:17 pm Post subject: Electric or electrical? |
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Hello,
I have trouble to know when I should use adjectives when there are two forms such as with "electric" and "electrical", "academic" and "academical", "economic" and "economical", "astronomic" and "astronomical", "fanatic" and "fanatical", "epidemic" and "epidemical" and so on.
Is there a grammar rule for this? How do you decide which one to use? Does it depend on personal preferences, which variety of English you speak (British, American, ...), ...?
Hopefully, someone can provide a clear answer or a link to a site that would explain this. It has been bothering me for a long time. |
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buddhaheart
Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 195
Location: Vancouver, BC Canada
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| Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2007 4:47 pm Post subject: |
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No, unfortunately we believe there�s no general rule as to their correct use in a particular case.
Using "electric" and "electrical" as an example:
An electric car (Not *electrical car)
Electrical engineering (Not *electric engineering)
An electric current (Not *electrical current)
An electric shock (Not *electrical shock)
Electrical equipment (Not *electric equipment)
Electrical components (Not *electric components) |
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erik19283
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:44 am Post subject: |
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| So, the only way to use those adjectives properly is to "know" which one goes with which noun? |
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CP
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2875
Location: California
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 8:18 am Post subject: |
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Yes, it's tough.
Some tips:
No such thing as "academical" and "epidemical."
Mostly "fanatic" is used as the noun, "fanatical" as the adjective, although you might hear something like "a fanatic devotion to sunscreen."
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb |
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erik19283
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:37 pm Post subject: |
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| CP wrote: |
Yes, it's tough.
Some tips:
No such thing as "academical" and "epidemical."
Mostly "fanatic" is used as the noun, "fanatical" as the adjective, although you might hear something like "a fanatic devotion to sunscreen." |
What puzzles me is that I found them in the dictionary:
http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/epidemical
http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/academical
Is is possible then that the usage differs from the region where the speaker is from? |
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Lorikeet
Joined: 08 Oct 2005
Posts: 1877
Location: San Francisco
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| Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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| They both sound strange to me too. Maybe they are British. |
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Philo Kevetch
Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 564
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| Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 12:43 am Post subject: |
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Yes, academical is in the dictionary, but it is a noun.
Epidemical is an adjective but it's use is usually limited to describing phases in a process in various scientific fields. |
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CP
Joined: 12 Jun 2006
Posts: 2875
Location: California
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| Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 7:57 am Post subject: |
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Well, obviously I am wrong. Maybe I should have said that I have never seen or heard them used as adjectives, and if I did, I would make that "erf?" sound and c o c k my head to one side, like my dog does when I ask her a question.
If you Google "academic" and "academical," you get 217 million hits vs. 615,000, so "academic" is 352 times as common.
For "epidemic" vs. "epidemical," it's 419 million vs. 54,800, or 419 times as common.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb |
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erik19283
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Philo Kevetch wrote: |
| Yes, academical is in the dictionary, but it is a noun. |
Sorry to contradict you, Philo Kevetch, but "academical" is not only a noun; it can also be an adjective.
If you don't believe me... take a look in a good dictionary.  |
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erik19283
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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| CP wrote: |
If you Google "academic" and "academical," you get 217 million hits vs. 615,000, so "academic" is 352 times as common.
For "epidemic" vs. "epidemical," it's 419 million vs. 54,800, or 419 times as common. |
Thank you, CP. I guess it is a good idea to Google words to see how popular or common they are. |
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Philo Kevetch
Joined: 01 Feb 2006
Posts: 564
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| Posted: Sat Jun 16, 2007 8:32 pm Post subject: |
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CP - If you were responding to my post....No 'correction' intended.
Like Lorikeet, both words sounded strange to me, too.
Erik 19283 - No need to be sorry for contradicting me. One of the things I
enjoy most about the English language is the seemingly endless
possibility to learn something new.
Of course I believe you; why wouldn't I?
Please be kind enough to recommend a 'good dictionary'...that would be
phantasmagorical. :) Philo |
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erik19283
Joined: 14 Oct 2005
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2007 7:29 am Post subject: |
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| Philo Kevetch wrote: |
Erik 19283 - No need to be sorry for contradicting me. One of the things I
enjoy most about the English language is the seemingly endless
possibility to learn something new. |
Well, personally I would prefer English to be a little more the same everywhere. What I mean by that is that some spellings, grammar point, and so on vary a lot depending on people's preferences and location. For someone learning English, it is not so easy to know what to use and when since there are so many possibilities.
| Philo Kevetch wrote: |
Please be kind enough to recommend a 'good dictionary'...that would be
phantasmagorical.  Philo |
What I like to use online is the Merriam Webster at www.merriamwebster.com
Otherwise, I use the Oxford dictionary and also the Longman. The Longman one isn't as good as the Oxford one, but it explains everything in normal day-to-day language, so it is often easier to grasp the meaning of words. It also contains usage notes, which are very interesting and helpful. |
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