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Stenka25 Posted 11 years ago
Vocabulary
A question regarding 'BUT'
a question regarding 'BUT'
The passage below is from a book, Habits of the Heart.
https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=XsUojihVZQcC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=%22so+long+as+everyone+had+a...
Equal opportunities are guaranteed by fair laws and political procedures - laws and procedures applied in the same way to everyone. But this way of thinking about justice does not in itself contain a vision of what the distribution of goods in a society would end up looking like if individuals had an equal chance to pursue their interests. Thus, there could be great disparities in the income given to people in different occupations in a just society so long as everyone had an equal chance of getting a well-paid job. But if, as is now becoming painfully apparent, there are more qualified applicants than openings for the interesting job, is equal opportunity enough to assure justice?
I'd like to ask a question regarding the underlined 'But'.
I don't think 'but' can make a good sense with the preceding sentence. To me it seems to be better that it is replaced with 'moreover'.
The reason of my argument: the preceding sentence said the equal chance didn't guarantee the equal distribution, and the sentence in question says the worse condition that 'if there are more qualified applicants than openings for the interesting job', so I think it better that 'but' is replaced with 'moreover'.
Am I right?
Regards.
The passage below is from a book, Habits of the Heart.
https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=XsUojihVZQcC&pg=PA26&lpg=PA26&dq=%22so+long+as+everyone+had+a...
Equal opportunities are guaranteed by fair laws and political procedures - laws and procedures applied in the same way to everyone. But this way of thinking about justice does not in itself contain a vision of what the distribution of goods in a society would end up looking like if individuals had an equal chance to pursue their interests. Thus, there could be great disparities in the income given to people in different occupations in a just society so long as everyone had an equal chance of getting a well-paid job. But if, as is now becoming painfully apparent, there are more qualified applicants than openings for the interesting job, is equal opportunity enough to assure justice?
I'd like to ask a question regarding the underlined 'But'.
I don't think 'but' can make a good sense with the preceding sentence. To me it seems to be better that it is replaced with 'moreover'.
The reason of my argument: the preceding sentence said the equal chance didn't guarantee the equal distribution, and the sentence in question says the worse condition that 'if there are more qualified applicants than openings for the interesting job', so I think it better that 'but' is replaced with 'moreover'.
Am I right?
Regards.
Top answer
so long as everyone had an equal chance of getting a well-paid job. But people don't have a chance of getting a well-paid job (there are too many applicants for each of these jobs) The author is making a contrast between the assumption of everyone getting a well-paid jobs, and the present condition that there are not enough of these jobs.
- so long as everyone had an equal chance of getting a well-paid job.
- But people don't have a chance of getting a well-paid job (there are too many applicants for each of these jobs) The author is making a contrast between the assumption of everyone getting a well-paid jobs, and the present condition that there are not enough of these jobs.
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8 Answers
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... so long as everyone had an equal chance of getting a well-paid job. But people don't have a chance of getting a well-paid job (there are too many applicants for each of these jobs)
The author is making a contrast between the assumption of everyone getting a well-paid jobs, and the present condition that there are not enough of these jobs.
The author is making a contrast between the assumption of everyone getting a well-paid jobs, and the present condition that there are not enough of these jobs.
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This author seems to like writing sentences that start with' but', and then leaving the reader to figure out the connection to what has just been said. He does it earlier in the paragraph, too.
I would favour not 'Moreover' but instead 'However'. What is being raised in the final sentence seems to me a new and major point.
I would favour not 'Moreover' but instead 'However'. What is being raised in the final sentence seems to me a new and major point.
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Stenka25I'd like to ask a question regarding the underlined 'But'.Does this author use "but" frequently?
'Moreover' is much less popular than "but."
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But it's the use of 'but' to start a sentence that can sometimes be problematic.
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CliveBut it's the use of 'but' to start a sentence that can sometimes be problematic.But not in your sentence, Clive!
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I said 'sometimes'.
But overall, I think this writer could express his ideas more clearly than he does.
Clive
But overall, I think this writer could express his ideas more clearly than he does.
Clive
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CliveBut overall, I think this writer could express his ideas more clearly than he does.And I completely agree. The author "buts" too much.
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