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PASTEL Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
List of Adjectives
good or bad
better or worse
big or small
young or old
mainstream or crazy
The left side of 'or' sort of belongs to 'more positive' category. Even the beauty comes before the beast! Is there any philosophy behind?Treat or trick?If you don't give me candy and chocolate, I'll play tricks! Does the reverse make sense,too? "Trick or treat?" It sounds to me that when one offers choices, one tends to say the more pleasant one.
At Starbucks
Clerk: Can I help you?
Pastel: I'd like a Late, please.
1-Clerk: Grande or medium?
2-Clerk: Medium or grande? (He'd better get himself prepared! He might get a pink slip soon!)
3-Clerk: Medium? (Pause.................) Or grande? (Maybe Pastel is a regular patron and the clerk knows Pastel's preference. Or grande? How about grande this time?)
Top answer
It's an interesting observation, Pastel, and we may be hard-pressed to think of contrary examples. ] rule, in the sense that the prime, preferred, positive, role of a little goblin, or ghoul, is do tricks on people. The list goes on and on-- more/ less, heavy/ light, top/bottom, male/ female, smoking/ non-smoking, forward/backward, love/ hate, Heaven/ ****, clockwise/counter clockwise, high/ low, first-class/ coach, major/ minor, light/ dark, something/ nothing.
- It's an interesting observation, Pastel, and we may be hard-pressed to think of contrary examples.
- ] rule, in the sense that the prime, preferred, positive, role of a little goblin, or ghoul, is do tricks on people.
- The list goes on and on-- more/ less, heavy/ light, top/bottom, male/ female, smoking/ non-smoking, forward/backward, love/ hate, Heaven/ ****, clockwise/counter clockwise, high/ low, first-class/ coach, major/ minor, light/ dark, something/ nothing.
- I wonder what the Taoists think about this, with their notion of the universal law of the interplay of -but especially the equality of- opposites.
- )
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15 Answers
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It's an interesting observation, Pastel, and we may be hard-pressed to think of contrary examples. Even 'trick or treat' can be thought of as consistent with the [hidden?] rule, in the sense that the prime, preferred, positive, role of a little goblin, or ghoul, is do tricks on people.
The list goes on and on--
more/ less, heavy/ light, top/bottom, male/ female, smoking/ non-smo
The list goes on and on--
more/ less, heavy/ light, top/bottom, male/ female, smoking/ non-smo
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DavkettBlack/ white-- (But then, consider that black is all colors, white is no color.)
Not so if you're talking about light. When using light, white is made by mixing all colors; black is made in the absence of light.
Tim
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"Smoking or non-smoking?"Is it because the popularity of smoking overwhelms that of non-smoking?
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Actually, Pastel, I missed the potential implication of that one. No, now that I look at it--it only reflects the rule of placing a [straightforward, grammatical] term against its negation...nothing to do with popular trends.
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I guess so. I was thinking about that question while taking a shower. That's why we have Yes/No question.
[] or [-positive]
[] or [-positive]
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Hurm...very interesting question!
We say in Japanese 'old and young', 'south and north', 'sky and earth', 'left and right', 'night and day', and 'out and in'. They are just reverse in order to English versions. On the other hand, things like 'good and bad', 'big and small', 'strong and weak', 'up and down', 'east and west', 'spring and autumn', 'man and woman', 'wife and kids', 'sun and
We say in Japanese 'old and young', 'south and north', 'sky and earth', 'left and right', 'night and day', and 'out and in'. They are just reverse in order to English versions. On the other hand, things like 'good and bad', 'big and small', 'strong and weak', 'up and down', 'east and west', 'spring and autumn', 'man and woman', 'wife and kids', 'sun and
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AnonymousHi Tim,DavkettNot so if you're talking about light. When using light, white is made by mixing all colors; black is made in the absence of light.
Black/ white-- (But then, consider that black is all colors, white is no color.)
Tim
Thanks for that distincti
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Paco,
Just a clarification, please. In Japan,do you pronounce these complementary pairs in English or Japanese? I'm asking because I'm wondering how much the order actually depends on the easiest flow of sounds. Or is there something conceptual that is different from one culture to another. For instance, the national flag of Japan is a red circle figure on a white background, so you
Just a clarification, please. In Japan,do you pronounce these complementary pairs in English or Japanese? I'm asking because I'm wondering how much the order actually depends on the easiest flow of sounds. Or is there something conceptual that is different from one culture to another. For instance, the national flag of Japan is a red circle figure on a white background, so you
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DavkettFor instance, the national flag of Japan is a red circle figure on a white background, so you say red before white.I think so. Considersing our flag, we'd say it's red, white and blue. Red is the main part and it's a symbol of blood and sacrafice. Now, I wander about why most of the flags in the world maily consist of red. I just asked my Dad and he sa
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