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Rommel Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

Have I correctly used 'take,' 'lightly,' and 'these' in this sentence?

Have I correctly used 'take,' 'lightly,' and 'these' in this sentence?

Parents should not take romantic teenage relationships and heartbreaks lightly, for these are a normal part of teenage life.
  

Top answer

The English is correct, though "teenage romantic relationships and heartbreaks" seems a preferable word order. However, the overall meaning seems illogical to me. The fact that they are a normal part of teenage life does not seem to be a reason to take them more seriously.

  • The English is correct, though "teenage romantic relationships and heartbreaks" seems a preferable word order.
  • However, the overall meaning seems illogical to me.
  • The fact that they are a normal part of teenage life does not seem to be a reason to take them more seriously.
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7 Answers
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The English is correct, though "teenage romantic relationships and heartbreaks" seems a preferable word order. However, the overall meaning seems illogical to me. The fact that they are a normal part of teenage life does not seem to be a reason to take them more seriously.
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If I rewrite the sentence as follows, will it be acceptable?

Parents should not lightly take romantic relationships and heartbreaks, which are a normal part of teenage life.
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RommelThey should not lightly take relationships and heartbreaks, which are a normal part of teenage life.
"should not lightly take" is not idiomatic. The natural pattern is "should not take ~ lightly". Your revised sentence, for me, still seems to suggest, albeit not quite as strongly, that these things should be taken more seriously because they are a normal
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Would it be logical now if I rewrote the sentence as follows?

Teenage romantic relationships and heartbreaks are a normal part of teenage life, and/but parents should not take these lightly.
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RommelTeenage romantic relationships and heartbreaks are a normal part of teenage life, and/but parents should not take these lightly.
With "but", I think the sentence works. You might consider removing the first "Teenage" as it is implied by the second.
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Would it be acceptable, too, if I made the following revision?

Parents should not take romantic relationships and heartbreaks lightly even if/although these are considered a normal part of teenage life.
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RommelParents should not take romantic relationships and heartbreaks lightly even if/although these are considered a normal part of teenage life.
In that sentence I would use "even though". Consider a comma after "lightly".

Here I would be inclined to reinsert "teenage" before "romantic relationships". This is because it now could be read initially as

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