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Tenacious Learner Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Is this a suitable question to ask? (1) TEM

Hi teachers,
This is for a listening comprehension exercise. The title is the Elephant Man. The person that says the sentence is a doctor.
According to this sentence, 'He wore some old trousers, but no shirt, coat, or shoes, so I could see his body very well.', is this a suitable question to ask?
Is there a more challenging one?
Why could the doctor see the creature's body very well?
Because he wore no shirt coat, or shoes.

Thanks in advance.
  

Top answer

You need a comma after "shirt". The question and answer are correct. One thing, though—the Elephant Man was a real person, so I wouldn't call him a creature.

— Enoon

  • You need a comma after "shirt".
  • The question and answer are correct.
  • One thing, though—the Elephant Man was a real person, so I wouldn't call him a creature.
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11 Answers
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You need a comma after "shirt". The question and answer are correct. One thing, though—the Elephant Man was a real person, so I wouldn't call him a creature.
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enoon... the Elephant Man was a real person, so I wouldn't call him a creature.
I would certainly call him a creature. Creature is another word for human being (usually used to express scorn, pity, etc.). Check any decent dictionary.
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Would you like to be called a creature?

Certainly people who dealt personally with Joseph Merrick might have "expressed scorn, etc" towards him, but it's hardly the place of a grammar exam to do so.
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khoffWould you like to be called a creature? Certainly people who dealt personally with Joseph Merrick might have "expressed scorn, etc" towards him, but it's hardly the place of a grammar exam to do so.
Well, my point is that the word is, according to many dictionaries, synonymous with just human being.

The word can also be used as a term of e
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Aspara Gus the word is, according to many dictionaries, synonymous with just human being.The word can also be used as a term of endearment, as well as one of contempt. I for one would not take offense from being called a creature.
Context matters. Sure, you can write "she was a timid creature" with no implication that she was some sort of monster. But just thi
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enoonBut just think of Salieri in the movie Amadeus referring to Mozart as "The Creature". The use of "creature" in Thinking Spain's answer is of that second kind.
I agree. For Thinking Spain's benefit, I just pointed out that the word could be used to describe people as well.

Incidentally, Amadeus is a great flick. I should see it again soon.
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enoonOne thing, though—the Elephant Man was a real person, so I wouldn't call him a creature.
Hi,
It is not my idea to call him a creature. The book does. At the beginning it calls him a creature, then it switches to Merrick.
This is for a listening comprehension exercise, so I have to adjust, to adapt, my questions to what they will hear, won't I?
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The book calls him a creature because that is the whole point of the story, an indictment of the insensitivity of the times to infirmity. We meet a "creature" and discover that it is a man like us. Don't you call him a creature, even if the book does, unless, of course, that label is germaine to your question, which it is not in this case. Call him Merrick; that shows comprehension.
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enoonCall him Merrick; that shows comprehension.
Hi,
Thank you for your that point.
What does, '... that label is germaine to your question' mean?

TS
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Thinking Spain enoonCall him Merrick; that shows comprehension.Hi,Thank you for your that point.What does, '... that label is germaine to your question' mean?TS
I mean you could write the question "Why does the doctor stop calling Merrick a creature?" or "Who does the 'creature' turn out to be?"
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