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Taka Posted 22 years ago
Grammar

Question

The sentence:

Unless we happen to be professional scientists, laboratory experiments and formulae have ceased to have any meaning for most of us.
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About "laboratory experiments and formulae", is it:

(a ) laboratory experiments + laboratory formulae

or

(b ) laboratory experiments + formulae ?

I think it's (b ), but I'm not sure on this one...
  

Top answer

I feel the same. I'm not native speaker, so let's wait and see what others might say.

— Ahava_yin

  • I feel the same.
  • I'm not native speaker, so let's wait and see what others might say.
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6 Answers
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I feel the same. I'm not native speaker, so let's wait and see what others might say.
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Hard to tell, Taka and Ahava-- it could logically be either, and the grammar tells us little. If the writer wanted to make it very clear that the formulae were not merely those of the laboratory, s/he would have written ' formulae+ laboratory experiments', I suppose, so ( a ) is slightly more likely.
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Hmm...what exactly is "laboratory formulae"?? Formunlae which only work in laboratories?? Formulae done in laboratories??

I also tried Google, but the number of entry for "laboratory formulae" was very few...
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Yes, Mister Micawber, I thought about the modifier "laboratory" here and I felt it makes no such difference if s/he just say "experiments and formulae", because to me, the sentence stresses on expressing the relation between "being professional" and "understanding professional stuff".

Your explaination is persuasive in deed. Thank you.
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I see what you mean, Taka, neither 'laboratory formulae' nor '- formulas' hits on many pages. On the other hand, general formulae would include all sorts of things that still do have interest for us:[url="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0849324793?v=glance"]for instance[/ur
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According to my common sense, it seems (b).

My style to solve such a problem - subscript brackets
[NB: since I can't subscript the brackets here, the brackets will be shown as normal)

(laboratory experiments and formulae) are
It means laboratory experiements + formulae.

laboratory (experiments and formulae) are
It means laboratory experiments + laborat
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