An essay i had to write for my english lesson

[Elthy]

Wow, thanks for your effort! Sadly i allready had to hand it in (also i couldnt just shamelessly copy all that, right?), but i can learn a lot for the next essay which will be graded.

[Ten Key]

7 hours ago, Plusck said:

On the other hand, though, I did like that "subtler", and it is definitely correct to do that (and not "more subtle" which actually is a mistaken application of the "two syllable" rule, since the comparative with "-er" ends up staying with two syllables).

Interesting. It appears you are correct, though "subtler" seems to be a bit of an edge case. Both Merriam-Webster and Oxford English use "subtler" in the main definition, but then both go on to use "more subtle" in some of the example sentences. This is probably a regional preference, as "sub-tle-er" sounds awkward to me. Moving from that second to third syllable feels slow and forced-- more subtle "rolls off the tongue" easier. But this is a technical English paper and you are correct. Good catch.

In any case, "intangible" (or less tangible, depending on the phrasing) is probably closer to what you were trying to express. Though the words are similar, subtle is closer to "indirect" or "hidden" (A subtle approach) or "indistinct" (The difference between the two colors is very subtle), whereas "intangible" is closer to "difficult to measure or quantify". In business, a corporation's "tangible assets" are its inventory, its factories, its real estate. . .things that are easily measured on a balance sheet. In contrast, "intangible assets" are things like customer loyalty, brand recognition or a favorable regulatory environment. They have value, but that value is difficult to measure directly.

You will see the word used this way in sports too. . .or at least in American sports. An athlete with average stats who is considered to be a good leader or strategist is often said to have "good intangibles". 

[kiwi1960]

On 27/06/2016 at 1:34 AM, PB666 said:

Strictly speaking that's not technical English. 

Spent should be used instead of spend. Superlatives like "too many", "too much" or prejoratives are to be avoided. "Isn't", "as high as most people think". If i see more than one of these in a manuscript it gets sent back for a technical English rewrite. I'm counting about two of these per paragraph. 

 

 

You beat me to it. Yes, most non English speakers have a hard time with past tense spelling. Its good to see the community helping out in more ways than people think.

[Plusck]

26 minutes ago, Ten Key said:

Interesting. It appears you are correct, though "subtler" seems to be a bit of an edge case. Both Merriam-Webster and Oxford English use "subtler" in the main definition, but then both go on to use "more subtle" in some of the example sentences. This is probably a regional preference, as "sub-tle-er" sounds awkward to me. Moving from that second to third syllable feels slow and forced-- more subtle "rolls off the tongue" easier. But this is a technical English paper and you are correct. Good catch.

Now you mention it... for me I think it would depend on the phrase how I'd use it in spoken English. The word just before it ends in -er, with a pause due to that comma, so I find it pleasing on the brain. If it were a phrase along the lines of "um, next time try to be more subtle" then I doubt I'd use "subtler" instead. So yes, I probably use the "incorrect" form more often since I'd be trying to put more emphasis. And with hindsight I shouldn't have said there was a right or wrong way since I'm probably more wrong than right myself :/

[Shpaget]

ARK: Survival Evolved is currently downloading.

$15,39 (45% off), it's still in pre-release.

[PB666]

13 hours ago, Plusck said:

Now you mention it... for me I think it would depend on the phrase how I'd use it in spoken English. The word just before it ends in -er, with a pause due to that comma, so I find it pleasing on the brain. If it were a phrase along the lines of "um, next time try to be more subtle" then I doubt I'd use "subtler" instead. So yes, I probably use the "incorrect" form more often since I'd be trying to put more emphasis. And with hindsight I shouldn't have said there was a right or wrong way since I'm probably more wrong than right myself :/

There are others, like the ise (UK)/ize (US) suffix. 

[Plusck]

9 hours ago, PB666 said:

There are others, like the ise (UK)/ize (US) suffix. 

Yes, well we all know that there's the right way to do things, then there's that second way that you mentioned.

Seriously though, this is a German university (afaik) so I would expect that British English would be considered correct by default, while the large minority of American teachers of English would also ensure that American English would always be considered correct too. You just need to be consistent.

[PB666]

3 hours ago, Plusck said:

Yes, well we all know that there's the right way to do things, then there's that second way that you mentioned.

Seriously though, this is a German university (afaik) so I would expect that British English would be considered correct by default, while the large minority of American teachers of English would also ensure that American English would always be considered correct too. You just need to be consistent.

Ah, but when you publish its good to know the nationality of your  publishing house.