To take the stock of the situation

Question

Dear all,today I wanted to use the following sentence (directly translated from Italian language)"To make the point of the situation" Later I had a look at the dictionary and I wasn´t that sure that this one was the right way to say, so I found the following: "To take the stock of the situation" which sounds to me so odd..Could you please advise what is good in this case?Thank youPamela

Avangi · Accepted Answer

The meanings are quite different.

"To take stock of something" is an idiom. We don't say "to take the stock of something."

"To make the point of the situation" may be idiomatic in Italian, and it's grammatical in English; but it sounds unnatural to my ear.

It's a phrase, not a sentence, so it's difficult to imagine exactly what you're trying to say.

Could you attempt to use it in a sentence?

Thanks, - A.

Pamela81 · Answer

AvangiThe meanings are quite different."To take stock of something" is an idiom. We don't say "to take the stock of something.""To make the point of the situation" may be idiomatic in Italian, and it's grammatical in English; but it sounds unnatural to my ear.It's a phrase, not a sentence, so it's difficult to imagine exactly what you're trying to say.Could you attempt to use it in a sentence?Thanks, - A.

Hi Avangi,

thank you for your reply.

I assume I did not understand the meaning of "to take stock of" could you please report an example for this? Thanks.

Concerning the expression "to make the point of the situation" I wanted to to use i as follows:

"Dear ***,
be so kind not to send me further requests and let´s make the point of the situation, instead.
If your stand has 2 sides open the price will be ***
If your stand has only one side open the price remains unchanged. "

Does it help? I´d like to use this special expression to describe a certain situation. Maybe an alternative would be "to sum up" ?"to sum up the facts"??

If this expression doesn´t make sense in English, please advise one.

Btw I find "to make the point of the situation" so nice and understandable

Awaiting your reply

Thanks!!

Pamela

Avangi · Answer

I may not make sense. I'm still trying to wake up.

I'm not exactly sure of the origin of the expression "to take stock of something." You can probably look it up. Sometimes they're not what you expect.

I assume it relates to stock in a store or warehouse. "To take stock" would be to take inventory, or to make some kind of list or accounting of everything you have.

To take stock of yourself could be to evaluate your abilities and potentials (and possessions).
To take stock of a situation could be to carefully consider or weigh the pros and cons of it.

"To sum up the facts" is a fair equivalent.

In AmE, we don't say "'To make the point of the situation," but we say "get to the point."
If a discussion is not reaching a conclusion, we might say, "Let's get to the point."
This is usually a bit impolite, and suggests that you're angry that the other party is "beating around/about the bush," or failing to be realistic, or not recognizing the key to the issue.

We have a casual expression which derives from the old cowboy western movies: [Let's] cut to the chase. (Get to the point!) (The chase was always the exciting ending of the movie.) To cut to that scene would be to leave a slow-moving scene (meanwhile, back at the ranch) and switch to the exciting climax. (Get to the point.)

Pamela81 · Answer

Thank you for your reply.

My dictionary very often doesn´t help

I´ve found on it the expression "To take stock of " as translation for "to make the point of the situation" ..... that is really not of help.

What about then "to sum up the facts"?

Thank you

KJinCali79 · Answer

In English you might say, "to get to the point" rather than "to make the point of."  At least I think that is what you're trying to say.  Note, however, that this has a connotation that almost makes it sound like a command or at least sounds forceful.  If that is your intention then you are probably OK.  However, if you are saying it to someone it might be considered rude.  If you are using it in your letter and it's clear that you are referring to yourself getting to the point, then it does imply something along the lines of "now to summarize" but I would be careful using this phrase.      "To take stock of", has a different meaning, and it implies that you are thinking about, or reflecting upon, a situation.

Pamela81 · Answer

KJinCali79 In English you might say, "to get to the point" rather than "to make the point of." At least I think that is what you're trying to say. Note, however, that this has a connotation that almost makes it sound like a command or at least sounds forceful. If that is your intention then you are probably OK. However, if you are saying it to someone it might be considered rude. If you are using it in your letter and it's clear that you are referring to yourself getting to the point, then it does imply something along the lines of "now to summarize" but I would be careful using this phrase. "To take stock of", has a different meaning, and it implies that you are thinking about, or reflecting upon, a situation.

Hi KJinCali79,

thank you for your reply.

"to get to the point" makes me think that I was speaking about a different topic and now I want to get back to something else. example: I was talking about price, then the customer started speaking about something else so I need to say let´s get to the point (back to the point : the price) Am I correct? Maybe you meant something different?

I did not want someone to take my sentence like a command, It wasn´t my intention, I wanted only to suggest to get back to the point (the important thing to discuss about).
Why "to summmarize" should be used carefully? I find it OK !

Thanks

Pamela

p.s
here, at point 16 I´ve found this expression "to take stock of" meaning "to make the point of the situation
http://www.wordreference.com/iten/punto

Avangi · Answer

On second thought, "to make the point of the situation" may not be that far off base, as you explain your problem.

Eg, "To make the point of the situation, you're going to have to do X, Y, and Z." (There's no way around it!) (Face facts!)

As an introductory expression, it's like saying, "Here's the way it is:"

KJinCali79 · Answer

Sorry I meant use "get to the point" carefully, because it can sound forceful.  "To summarize" is perfectly fine.  You can say, "let's get back to the point" meaning, let's go back to discussing the price.

Pamela81 · Answer

thank you so much, very clear now!!

Regards,
Pamela

KJinCali79 · Answer

I don't want to confuse you further, but a colloquial expression in English (at least US) when you are negotiating and you want to get to the end of the discussion on price (the bottom line), you can say, "let's get down to brass tacks." I would not suggest that you use this in your written correspondence, but it it is common to hear in speech. http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/get+down+to+brass+tacks

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