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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

moan vs groan

1b00moan a. 02b00A low, sustained, mournful cry, usually indicative of sorrow or pain.02br
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00groan :02br
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01b001. 02b00To voice a deep, inarticulate sound, as of pain, grief, or displeasure.02br
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01b002. 02b00To make a sound expressive of stress or strain: 01i01font00floorboards groaning.02font02i02br
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01font00Could you give a couple of examples where one but not the other works? To me, they are interchangable.02font02br
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01font00Thanks.02font0-
  

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7 Answers
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00Well, I can give you an example where both are required:02br
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01i00Stop your moaning and groaning and get back to work!02i0-
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0In your definitions, "sustained" is unique to "moan." A moan would be made by a living thing, or by something which imitates a living thing. It would tend to be a vowel, or singing sound, although probably not a constant pitch. 02br
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00Hopefully Jim or Kooyeen will get in on this. They're really into sounds.02br
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00For groan, your #2 definition
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0Avangi, you're going to hate me for pointing this out.02br
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00You said in the beginning of your post that moan is a sound made by living things while groan by non living things02br
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00But in your first example, you listed both choices.02br
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00This suggestion may also violate your definitions, but I want to know what you fee
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0 -------02br
00moan 02br
01b00102b00 01b00: 01a00LAMENTATION02a00, 01a00COMPLAINT02a02b00<made a great 01
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0I'm starting to see the difference. The keyword is sustaned/prolonged. Thanks, MM, Avangi and MH.0-
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1blockquote
01cite10New2grammar12cite10Avangi, you're going to hate me for pointing this out.12blockquote
11b01i00Ta-da01i00__________02i00 02i02b00Try that again? (I know I'm half asleep) 02br
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00If you're speaking of the moan-slash-groan, 01u01
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0Thanks, Avangi for the emphasis. I sort of get it.0-
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