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Vincent Teo Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

grooming

0Can I say,02br
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00(a) She is grooming her sister now. 0-
  

Top answer

0No! Generally, grooming as a verb is restricted to animals. You can groom your dog, and gorillas may groom each other, but do not say that one person is grooming another.

— BarbaraPA

  • 0No!
  • Generally, grooming as a verb is restricted to animals.
  • You can groom your dog, and gorillas may groom each other, but do not say that one person is grooming another.
  • 02br 02br 00She may be combing her sister's hair, or perhaps even helping her put on make up...
  • 0-
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3 Answers
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0No! Generally, grooming as a verb is restricted to animals. You can groom your dog, and gorillas may groom each other, but do not say that one person is grooming another. 02br
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00She may be combing her sister's hair, or perhaps even helping her put on make up... what did you have in mind when you wrote this?0-
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0 However, a person can be well-groomed. :-\02br
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00Looking up 'to primp' on a dictionary yields the following:02br
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00'To groom oneself with meticulous attention to detail.'02br
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00This would suggest that one can groom a person as well. At least oneself. Not sure about one's siblings tho.0-
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0There are contexts where 'grooming' is used regarding humans, but not really as a verb. You might find references to 'good grooming' and 'male grooming'. It is rather old-fashioned now though.02br
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00However, we never talk of grooming ourselves or another person - honestly. We groom animals, not people.0-
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