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Mr. Tom Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
The word "practised" as an adjective
Hi
Are these OK and natural?
It would take a practised hand to shoot the arrow right into the eye of the statue.
Only a very practised eye could detect the difference.
She is a practised public speaker.
The cook was not practised well at serving.
I can't perform; I'm not practised enough.
Thanks,
Tom
Are these OK and natural?
It would take a practised hand to shoot the arrow right into the eye of the statue.
Only a very practised eye could detect the difference.
She is a practised public speaker.
The cook was not practised well at serving.
I can't perform; I'm not practised enough.
Thanks,
Tom
Top answer
I think it needs to be directly in front of the noun: These are fine: It would take a p ractised hand to shoot the arrow right into the eye of the statue. Only a very practised eye could detect the difference. She is a practised public speaker .
- I think it needs to be directly in front of the noun: These are fine: It would take a p ractised hand to shoot the arrow right into the eye of the statue.
- Only a very practised eye could detect the difference.
- She is a practised public speaker .
- These don't sound right to me: The cook was not practised well at serving.
- I can't perform; I'm not practised enough.
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4 Answers
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I think it needs to be directly in front of the noun:
These are fine:
It would take a practised hand to shoot the arrow right into the eye of the statue.
Only a very practised eye could detect the difference.
She is a practised public speaker.
These don't sound right to me:
The cook was not
These are fine:
It would take a practised hand to shoot the arrow right into the eye of the statue.
Only a very practised eye could detect the difference.
She is a practised public speaker.
These don't sound right to me:
The cook was not
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Thanks, Vorpor!
...but "practised" does appear in almost all dictionaries I referred to as an adjective, meaning "skillful".
[Macmallan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners]
The waiter was well practised at interrupting intimate moments.
Could you please shed some more l
...but "practised" does appear in almost all dictionaries I referred to as an adjective, meaning "skillful".
[Macmallan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners]
The waiter was well practised at interrupting intimate moments.
Could you please shed some more l
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Mr. TomThe waiter was well practised at interrupting intimate moments.I think that works because it is sarcastic. I agree with Vorpar that your last two sentences are not possible (though 'well practised' would certainly help the first of those two).
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Collocations don't work in every sentence. The sentences may be technically correct, but sound weird to a native. With a word like "practiced", which is usually a past tense verb, it helps to use it in the most common situations.
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