Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yoshi-pooh]

Hi, everyone!

I've asked you a similar question before, but let me ask one more time in a different way.

Look at the sentences below.

A. Reading is to the mind as food is to the body.
B. Reading exists to the mind as food exists to the body.

A. Sake is to the Japanese as wine is to the French.
B. Sake exists to the Japanese as wine exists to the French.

In each pair, do you think the Bs are correct to paraphraze As?

Thank you!


Thank you!

[KHF]

If you ask me, no.

Both type A sentences are used to emphasize the importance of a particular item. Type B sentences only show a similiar existential relationship between two items. In fact, the first type B sentence doesn't make much sense at all.

[redset]

I agree with KHF - in this case is is being used to provide descriptive information about reading, food etc., not to just say that they exist.

Here are some other ways of writing the first sentence, just to help clear up the meaning:
'To the mind, reading is like food.'
'To the mind, reading is as food is to the body.'
'The relationship between reading and the mind is like the relationship between food and the body.'

If you think a movie is boring you can say 'this movie is boring to me'. It means that in your opinion, from your perspective, the movie is boring. The relationship between yourself and the movie is that you think it's boring. If I think a certain book is boring, then I could ask you what you thought of the movie and you could say, 'what I think of the movie is the same as what you think of that book.' I think the book is boring, so you must think the movie is boring. The book is boring to me, as the movie is boring to you. Because the relationship is similar in both situations (boring!) we can just drop that word, and say 'the book is to me as the movie is to you'. If you didn't know how at least one of us feels then the sentence doesn't give much information (maybe we both really like the book/movie?), but you know that we definitely both feel the same way. The relationships are comparable or equivalent or analogous.

[yoshi-pooh]

KHF, redset, thanks for your replies.

Now I understand why the verb has to be "is", not exists.

yoshi-pooh,