Start, start off, or start with

Question

Hi,I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in question.Being a singer was my childhood dream. My voice was not exceptionally beautiful, but I was convinced I had potential. I took part in a local singing contest in my late twenties. I wished that would a marvelous career with some prize won. When it was my turn, I took a deep breath and went onto the stage.a) turn over b) make sure c) cover up d) start offWith instinct, I chose answer d), and it is the correct. However, I don't know how to explain to my students why the writer uses "start off" instead of "start", or "start with."Now I have some doubt if these three basically mean the same thing. Hope you can tell me the differences if they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance.Gloria

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... deep breath and went onto the stage. a) turn over b) make sure c) cover up d) start off[/nq]
e) begin.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... same thing. Hope you can tell me the differences if they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance.[/nq]
"Start off" is the correct choice, but "start" would be acceptable. "Start with" implies that more than a marvelous career is wanted.

Tony Cooper
Orlando, FL

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I wished that would a marvelous career with some prize won. a) turn over b) make sure ... don't know how to explain to my students why the writer uses "start off" instead of "start", or "start with."[/nq]
A simple "start" would be best. But English in recent times has as part of a general tendency to never use one word where three will do especially been piling up needless prepositions in a row till they look like a train wreck. Where once one would "check" something, one took to "checking on" it; that wasn't dumb enough, so now one must "check up on" whatever. So "start off" is just an over-elaboration of "start".
You could not, though, "start with" in that construction, because what would you be starting "with"? "With" signifies something associated or attached: "I started my career with winning a prize in a contest," for example.
(Not strictly relevant, but that is a bad sentence in several ways, not worth elaborating.)

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(Email Removed) had it:
[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... don't know how to explain to my students why the writer uses "start off" instead of "start", or "start with."[/nq]
"start off" is the right answer because it's in the list of options. Setters of multiple choice English questions don't necessarily put the best English in the list of answers - they put three wrong answers and one which is not wrong. I don't think there's any point in analysing it any further.
[nq:1]Now I have some doubt if these three basically mean the same thing. Hope you can tell me the differences if they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance.[/nq]
Since you raise this question, yes, "start" would be fine. I would say that "kick start" would be the very best answer here, but that doesn't make d) wrong.

David
==

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... same thing. Hope you can tell me the differences if they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance.[/nq]
It's an interesting question that got me wondering why "off" is used in this and other beginning-type phrases. To set off on a journey is to start it. At the beginnings of several sports there is a -off (kick-off, face-off, tip-off) that gets the participants off and running.
As others have said, "start with" does not have the same meaning as "start off" or "start" (which are near-synonyms in this context). I would have used "start" myself, but either would be understood to mean about the same thing. To use "start with", the sentence would have to be recast slightly, to something like "I wished that my career would start with some prize won".

There may be a subtle difference between starting and starting off, related to the sense that what was formerly a static situation changes to one where participants have moved away from their previous position. From one viewpoint, a starting player on a team sport is merely present in the lineup when the game begins; the player is not actually doing anything until the game starts off.
In the context of an entire career, the distinction (to the extent it is a real distinction) wouldn't be relevant. It's a matter of granularity. The start of a career is the first step of the career, not usually the instant the first step takes place that is, the singing contest is itself the first step, not, say, 8:37 pm on the date of the contest, when the first sound was emitted by the singer.

rzed

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[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... thing. Hope you can tell me the differences if they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance. Gloria[/nq]
General question here. "I wished that would " seems to me to require a "have"
as in " I wished that that would have started " . Am I mistaken here?

For the use of start or start off. I woudl prefer start but either seems acceptable but I think in either case one needs the past participle : started or started off.
John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... same thing. Hope you can tell me the differences if they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance.[/nq]
"Start" would work fine, but it's not given as a possible answer. "Start with" means "begin with", as in "begin with a marvelous career", which is not the same as "begin a career".
Personally, I feel that "kick off" is the most idiomatic answer (AmE) in the given context.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I ... they serve different purposes in the sentence. Thanks in advance.[/nq]
[nq:1]General question here. "I wished that would " seems to me to require a "have" as in " I wished that that would have started " . Am I mistaken here?[/nq]
In this context, I think you are mistaken. I'm not sure what the reason is, as far as the grammatical rule, but we don't yet know whether the wish was counter-factual, so we don't need the "would have" construction.
As I was going for the ball, an opposing player grabbed my jersey. I wished that would attract the referee's attention, and, from out of the corner of my eye, I saw a foul call being made.
[nq:1]For the use of start or start off. I woudl prefer start but either seems acceptable but I think in either case one needs the past participle : started or started off.[/nq]
Again, you only need that after the disappointment.

Jeff

"The fetters imposed on liberty at home have
ever been forged out of the weapons provided
for defence against real, pretended, or
imaginary dangers from abroad."
James Madison

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi, I have to bother you with the sentence I have read on one test. Here is the sentence in ... don't know how to explain to my students why the writer uses "start off" instead of "start", or "start with."[/nq]
What bothers me is that an instructor turns to newsgroups because she draws a blank on diction and word choice. If you are teaching for the test, stop. Teach yourself how to engage with your class and rather than playing these *** games with posters from anywhere. If the speaker wishes the singing contest would launch a career, then I wished that would start off is a terribly awkward construction.
I hoped the contest would launch my career?
But since you are stuck with this lame sentence sense some glazed over *** scrawled out because his uncle knew someone who gave him the job, start* is not interchangeable with *start off.
I hoped for the start of a marvelous career subordinates start within the prepositional phrase.
I wished that would is the start of a subordinate clause which needs an adverbial modifier, hence, start off, because that is taking on the function of a conjunction.
You do know how to read dictionaries at the collegiate level?

Joanne

Start, start off, or start with

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