Worth

Question

I've come across the sentence, "Losing a few hundred dollars was well worth a moment alone with the man of her dreams." It sounds odd to me (not morally, but semantically), and I think it should be "A moment alone with the man of her dreams was well worth (losing) a few hundred dollars."

What is the difference between the two sentences? Or do they have the same meaning?

If they have the same meaning, can I rephrase it as "It was well worth losing a few hundred dollars to have a moment with the man of her dreams"?

Thanks.

Blue Jay · Accepted Answer

AnonymousI've come across the sentence, "Losing a few hundred dollars was well worth a moment alone with the man of her dreams." It sounds odd to me (not morally, but semantically), and I think it should be "A moment alone with the man of her dreams was well worth (losing) a few hundred dollars."

Both of these sentences are very awkward indeed.

AnonymousIf they have the same meaning, can I rephrase it as "It was well worth losing a few hundred dollars to have a moment alone with the man of her dreams"?

Yes, that's much better.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Blue Jay.

Blue JayBoth of these sentences are very awkward indeed.

One of my textbooks says, "The -ing clause cannot be the subject [when we talk about the value of an activity using "worth"]; we often use preparatory it." For example, it says: It's worth talking to Joe. (NOT ~~Talking to Joe is worth~~.)

I know the structure of the sentence(s) about Joe is a bit different from the structures of the sentences I quoted (and created) in my first post, but is the reason they are awkward related to the -ing form subject?

Blue JayYes, that's much better.

Thank you again, and I'd like to know one more thing. Is the following sentence still much better: "It was well worth (having) a moment alone with the man of her dreams to lose a few hundred dollars"? (Thank you for adding "alone.")

Regards,
OP.

Blue Jay · Answer

AnonymousOne of my textbooks says, "The -ing clause cannot be the subject [when we talk about the value of an activity using "worth"]; we often use preparatory it." For example, it says: It's worth talking to Joe. (NOT Talking to Joe is worth.)I know the structure of the sentence(s) about Joe is a bit different from the structures of the sentences I quoted (and created) in my first post, but is the reason they are awkward related to the -ing form subject?

It is the same basic structure.

AnonymousIs the following sentence still much better: "It was well worth (having) a moment alone with the man of her dreams to lose a few hundred dollars

This doesn't work very well. It sounds as though she wanted to lose a few hundred dollars, and was able to achieve this by spending a moment with the man of her dreams.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Blue Jay.
I really appreciate your answers.

Worth

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