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Jooney Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
In other words
Hi,
In the years since, a number of studies have supported this view. So-called noncognitive skills — attributes like self-restraint, persistence and self-awareness — might actually be better predictors of a person’s life trajectory than standard academic measures. A 2011 study using data collected on 17,000 British infants followed over 50 years found that a child’s level of mental well-being correlated strongly with future success. Similar studies have found that kids who develop these skills are not only more likely to do well at work but also to have longer marriages and to suffer less from depression and anxiety. Some evidence even shows that they will be physically healthier.
This was startling news. “Everybody said, Oh, it’s how kids achieve academically that will predict their adult employment, and health, and everything else,” recalls Mark Greenberg, a Penn State University psychologist. “And then it turned out that for both employment and health outcomes, academic achievement actually predicted less than these other factors.”
Should social-emotional learning prove successful, in other words, it could generate a string of benefits that far exceeds a mere bump in test scores.
Q1)
in other words: used to introduce a statement that repeats what has been said in a different and usually a simpler or more exact way
So, the statement followed by 'in other words' is the simpler/more succinct version of what was said previously. Here, 'in other words' is inserted between the preposition phrase with an omission of if and subject-auxiliary inversion and the second part of the conditional construction. The placement seems a little odd to me, though. Why didn't the author put it in front of the preposition phrase starting with 'should'? Is it because the thing that comes before 'in other words' is not part of the restatement made afterwards, 'it could generate...'?
Q2)
It could generate a string of benefits that far exceeds a mere bump in test scores.
What does this sentence mean?
Successful social-emotional learning could bring a lot more benefits than high academic achievement on test scores alone could bring.
Is this what it means?
OR
Benefits that social-emotional learning could generate is much more than just high academic achievement on test scores.
Which interpretation is right? The first, right?
In the years since, a number of studies have supported this view. So-called noncognitive skills — attributes like self-restraint, persistence and self-awareness — might actually be better predictors of a person’s life trajectory than standard academic measures. A 2011 study using data collected on 17,000 British infants followed over 50 years found that a child’s level of mental well-being correlated strongly with future success. Similar studies have found that kids who develop these skills are not only more likely to do well at work but also to have longer marriages and to suffer less from depression and anxiety. Some evidence even shows that they will be physically healthier.
This was startling news. “Everybody said, Oh, it’s how kids achieve academically that will predict their adult employment, and health, and everything else,” recalls Mark Greenberg, a Penn State University psychologist. “And then it turned out that for both employment and health outcomes, academic achievement actually predicted less than these other factors.”
Should social-emotional learning prove successful, in other words, it could generate a string of benefits that far exceeds a mere bump in test scores.
Q1)
in other words: used to introduce a statement that repeats what has been said in a different and usually a simpler or more exact way
So, the statement followed by 'in other words' is the simpler/more succinct version of what was said previously. Here, 'in other words' is inserted between the preposition phrase with an omission of if and subject-auxiliary inversion and the second part of the conditional construction. The placement seems a little odd to me, though. Why didn't the author put it in front of the preposition phrase starting with 'should'? Is it because the thing that comes before 'in other words' is not part of the restatement made afterwards, 'it could generate...'?
Q2)
It could generate a string of benefits that far exceeds a mere bump in test scores.
What does this sentence mean?
Successful social-emotional learning could bring a lot more benefits than high academic achievement on test scores alone could bring.
Is this what it means?
OR
Benefits that social-emotional learning could generate is much more than just high academic achievement on test scores.
Which interpretation is right? The first, right?
Top answer
jooney Here, 'in other words' is inserted between the preposition phrase ... seems a little odd to me, though. Why didn't the author put it in front ...
- jooney Here, 'in other words' is inserted between the preposition phrase ...
- seems a little odd to me, though.
- Why didn't the author put it in front ...
- Is it because the thing that comes before 'in other words' is not part of the restatement ...?
- It's purely a matter of style.
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4 Answers
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jooney Here, 'in other words' is inserted between the preposition phrase ... seems a little odd to me, though. Why didn't the author put it in front ... Is it because the thing that comes before 'in other words' is not part of the restatement ...?It's purely a matter of style. The normal position of in other words is at the beginning, but the author
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Hi CJ,
Thanks for the reply.
Even in its current position, in other words is more closely associated with the beginning clause than with the following clause.
@ Could you elaborate on this? I'm not really sure what you mean by this.
Thanks for the reply.
Even in its current position, in other words is more closely associated with the beginning clause than with the following clause.
@ Could you elaborate on this? I'm not really sure what you mean by this.
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jooneyCould you elaborate on this? I'm not really sure what you mean by this.I mean that if you said the sentence aloud, you would include in other words in the same breath group as the preceding clause, then pause, then say the rest of the sentence.
You would not, in contrast, pause after the first clause, then say in other words and t
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