on moral ground

Question

A pacifist is a person who refuses to bear arms or to fight on moral or religious ground.What does "on ... ground" mean here?

Marius Hancu · Accepted Answer

refuses to bear arms or to fight for moral reasons

Warrener · Answer

Thank you. Is that to say, "on ... ground" means "for ... reason"?

Can I say: "On personal ground I refuse to reply his email." ?

Thanks again.

Marius Hancu · Answer

"On personal grounds I refuse to reply his email." ?
yes, with that s.

Warrener · Answer

Marius Hancu"On personal grounds I refuse to reply his email." ?
yes, with that s.

Thank you, Marius Hancu.
But why do we say " on moral or religious ground" instead of "on moral or religious grounds"?

Kree · Answer

OK ... this is one of those things you just have to learn to listen for in English, I guess.

I object on moral grounds (with the s)
I stand on moral ground. (without).

Now take a look at all the meanings of the word ground: http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=grounds

I object on moral grounds ..... when the definition is 5. Often, grounds. the foundation or basis on which a belief or action rests; reason or cause: grounds for dismissal.

or in other words: "I object for moral reasons or beliefs."

Now, if you say "I stand on moral ground" (without the S"
You would be using definition # 6, which says grounds means: "subject for discussion; topic: *** education is forbidden ground in some school curricula."
So if you are standing on the "moral" side of the subject, then you are saying you are NOT agreeing with people who are on the immoral side of the subject.

Or as I like to divide that: I am standing on the moral ground of the Democratic Party in America, not on the amoral ground of the Republicans and their leader George Bush."

Hope that helps!

Kree from California

Warrener · Answer

KreeOK ... this is one of those things you just have to learn to listen for in English, I guess.

I object on moral grounds (with the s)
I stand on moral ground. (without).

Now take a look at all the meanings of the word ground:

I object on moral grounds ..... when the definition is 5. Often, grounds. the foundation or basis on which a belief or action rests; reason or cause: grounds for dismissal.

or in other words: "I object for moral reasons or beliefs."

Now, if you say "I stand on moral ground" (without the S"
You would be using definition # 6, which says grounds means: "subject for discussion; topic: *** education is forbidden ground in some school curricula."
So if you are standing on the "moral" side of the subject, then you are saying you are NOT agreeing with people who are on the immoral side of the subject.

Or as I like to divide that: I am standing on the moral ground of the Democratic Party in America, not on the amoral ground of the Republicans and their leader George Bush."

Hope that helps!

Kree from California

Thanks lot Kree. English is a crazy language!

Then, in my original example: " A pacifist is a person who refuses to bear arms or to fight on moral or religious ground." According to the #6 definition, a pacifist refuses to fight a war on moral or religious side.

Is that to say, a pacifist would bear arms or to fight for reasons other than moral or religious reasons? This is not like what I thought about a pacifist who won't agree with any war. Was I wrong?

Kree · Answer

OK. Moral ground is the place you stand.
Moral grounds are the REASONS for the place you stand.

Let me try this again:

I object on moral grounds. (for moral reasons).
= I object because war is against my morals

I object on religious grounds. (For religious reasons).
= I object because of my religious beliefs.

I hope that is clear.

I stand on moral ground. (My position is one that is solidly moral.)
I think the key word is "I stand" in this sentence. You wouldn't say "I stands on moral ground" any more than you would say "I stand on wet grounds." (There is an exception to this ... another definition of grounds = the space around something -- the grounds around a museum, the landscaped grounds around my house ... in this case you COULD say "I stand on the wet grounds," but I think you'd need the "the" there.)

So think of the VERB as it modifies the word ground.

She stands on solid ground. (i.e. her argument is one that is pretty well accepted as true, as if she said: "I claim I am a woman." She's on pretty solid ground there, assuming she really is a woman, I guess.)
She objects on the grounds that the rules prohibit that action.

Though the first example here doesn't have anything to do with moral/religious ground, it would "sound funny" to say "She stands on solid grounds."
Now you COULD say: "She stands on the solid grounds that the rules should be obeyed."

So if she IS obeying the rules, but the other person is not, then you'd say:

She is on solid ground for obeying the rules.
She is arguing on the solid grounds that he broke the rules.

or

She is on solid ground when she argues that she obeys the rules.
She is on solid ground when she says he broke the rules.

And I agree with your definition of pacifist.

Kree

Kree · Answer

OH. And to answer your initial question about the phrase:

" A pacifist is a person who refuses to bear arms or to fight on moral or religious ground."

I completely ignored this (ack!). But this phrase is meant to mean what we're talking about, that the person refuses to fight because his/her religious beliefs prohibit him/her from doing so.

But in MY OPINION, the phrase is gramatically incorrect. It should have an "s" on the end of the word ground.

In other words, I think you're trying to make sense of a statement that doesn't read accurately in the first place. Can you point to where you found it? I will be happy to check it out and give you even MORE of my opinions

Kree

Warrener · Answer

KreeOH. And to answer your initial question about the phrase:

" A pacifist is a person who refuses to bear arms or to fight on moral or religious ground."

I completely ignored this (ack!). But this phrase is meant to mean what we're talking about, that the person refuses to fight because his/her religious beliefs prohibit him/her from doing so.

But in MY OPINION, the phrase is gramatically incorrect. It should have an "s" on the end of the word ground.

In other words, I think you're trying to make sense of a statement that doesn't read accurately in the first place. Can you point to where you found it? I will be happy to check it out and give you even MORE of my opinions

Kree

Thank you Kree again!

Marius Hancu · Answer

WarrenerBut why do we say " on moral or religious ground" instead of "on moral or religious grounds"?

Show me a full context and I will tell you. We don't do that in general.

on moral ground

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