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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Proper word use.

If I were to say "In theory, I proved my point." would that be correct? I do not see how the word theory can be applied to the past tense usage of "prove". (And I don't even know if that sentence is correct either.)
  

Top answer

You can say that. Here's a little story: A guy has an argument with his wife. He says her mother comes to visit too often.

— BarbaraPA

  • You can say that.
  • Here's a little story: A guy has an argument with his wife.
  • He says her mother comes to visit too often.
  • She gets mad.
  • He pulls out the calendar where he has drawn big red X's on all the days his mother-in-law has been there, demonstrating that her mother has spent 40 of the last 52 weekends with them.
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9 Answers
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You can say that.

Here's a little story: A guy has an argument with his wife. He says her mother comes to visit too often. She gets mad. He pulls out the calendar where he has drawn big red X's on all the days his mother-in-law has been there, demonstrating that her mother has spent 40 of the last 52 weekends with them. His wife is now even more angry, and accuses him of never liking her
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Anonymous If I were to say "In theory, I proved my point."
The word 'theory' is normally used when you use facts or factual information to draw inference or to reach a conclusion. The same applies here. So when you state, "In theory, I proved my point", it means that you have your facts right, even though it may contradict with practical reasoning or may ha
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Bye the way, Benita - don't you like my new avatar? Emotion: big smile
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I do not understand. If the point has been proven, how can it still be a theory? In the story, his accusation that his mother-in-law comes over to much is the (or just "a" theory?) theory right? So he goes and points out that she comes over more than half of the weekends of the year, so he has proven that she does come over a lot (does it matter that he says "too much" and not "a lot"?). So since
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0 I think it 01b00may 02b00be used in your context, with the meaning:02br
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01font00in theory=01b00discussing speculatively02b02font02br
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00 You may want to look at:02br
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05002br
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00 on examples on 01i00theory0
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0"In theory" doesn't relate to the subject under discussion (the "point"): it relates to "proving the point", i.e. the mechanism of proving something.02br
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00MrP0-
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0The point (not the theory) was the she comes over too often. He did prove his point. But it just got him into more trouble with his wife. It's an idiomatic way of speaking.02br
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00If someone says that something is true "in theory" it may have more to do with how it helps or doesn't help than whether the facts are strictly true or not.0-
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0 Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. I have to admit though, those last too posts were a bit over my head. I can't even tell if you are agreeing with each other or not! 0-
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0Using 'in theory' in this way is idiomatic. It means that 'well, X SHOULD be the case, but actually it probably isn't'. It's not connected to proving anything. It's just confusing for you that in your sentence it was combined with proving a point, but it's not relevant to the meaning of 'in theory'. It can also be quite a sardonic way to express doubt.02br
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00Examples of
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