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Alc24 Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

Based on vs ACCORDING TO

Which would you say and are these at times interchangeable?

1 Based on what she said, she's got to be around here somewhere./According to what she said...

Can you give examples in which the 2 are interchangeable?

Thank you
  

Top answer

My reading would be that they are interchangeable, but that according to sounds more formal than based on . 'According' has three syllables, and polysyllabic words tend to sound a bit more pretentious. That's why newspapers and plain folks more often use words of one or two syllables.

— TrysB

  • My reading would be that they are interchangeable, but that according to sounds more formal than based on .
  • 'According' has three syllables, and polysyllabic words tend to sound a bit more pretentious.
  • That's why newspapers and plain folks more often use words of one or two syllables.
  • "
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1 Answers
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My reading would be that they are interchangeable, but that according to sounds more formal than based on.

'According' has three syllables, and polysyllabic words tend to sound a bit more pretentious. That's why newspapers and plain folks more often use words of one or two syllables.

"Based on the reports from Afghanistan, the new troop surge is a success."
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