When Solving Math Problems

PUBLIC_FLAG_#{@journal.pf_int} RSS feed of M-K-G's latest journal entries Nov 28th 2011 14:02 how-to-phrase
(A) When solving math problems, I less easily make careless mistakes than when other subjects ones.
(B) Math lets me avoid careless mistakes more often than other subjects.

(A) is a sentence my friend wrote, and (B) is one I've rewritten.
Do you think these are correct?
And I'd appreciate if you'd told me another good example!
Nov 28th 2011 14:15 jve_84

No, neither are correct. It should be "I make careless mistakes less often in math than I do in other subjects," or "I make careless mistakes in most subjects, but never in math," or "I rarely make careless mistakes in math, but not in other subjects."
Nov 28th 2011 14:27 jve_84
Basically you're trying to say "I'm perfect in math - but I have problems with other subjects." Sentence B is not expressing this idea. "(B) Math lets me avoid careless mistakes more often than other subjects." "Math" cannot 'let' you avoid mistakes一unless you are building a rocket or designing some engineering project. "Math" can 'let' you solve a hard problem, math 'lets' you figure out how electricity works, etc. Sentence B is grammatically correct, but does not contain the original meaning of sentence A.
Nov 28th 2011 15:04 M-K-G
Ah-huh!!
Your examples made it very clear to me.
Thank you very much, jve_84-san!!
Nov 28th 2011 14:19 tony

  • (A) When solving math problems, I less easily make careless mistakes than when other subjects ones.
  • (A) When solving mathematics problems, I am less likely to make careless mistakes than (when solving) problems in other subjects.

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • (B) Math lets me avoid careless mistakes more often than other subjects.
  • (B) Mathematics causes me to make careless mistakes less often than other subjects.

 

  • Do you think these are correct?
  • Do you think these are correct? [The phrase "when other subjects ones" in your friend's sentence is wrong. The rest is correct, but not natural. The word "lets" is strange in your version, and "avoiding mistakes more often" is less natural than "making mistakes less often." I would say that your version is correct but unnatural.]

1 people think this correction is good.  
I make careless mistakes less when doing mathematics problems than when doing problems in other subjects.

I make careless mistakes less when doing mathematics than when doing other subjects.

Nov 28th 2011 14:20 tony
By the way, I say "mathematics" and not "math" because I am a mathematician. In UK English, the short form is "maths", not "math." The short form "math" is only used in the US.
Nov 28th 2011 15:06 M-K-G
I think I missed some points about the nuance of "let" and "avoid" here.
Thank you so much as always, tony-san!
Nov 29th 2011 04:21 tony
"Let someone do" and "make someone do" are difficult for speakers of Japanese because they are both translations of causative forms. I'm going to give you a list of close equivalents, although you probably know most of this already:

(1) let someone do something (interpreting "let" as present tense)
allow someone to do something
permit someone to do something
enable someone to do something
help someone to do something

(2) make someone do something
cause someone to do something
force someone to do something
result (inevitably) in someone doing something

These tend not to be used with negative verbs. There are other expressions which are usually used in place of letting/making someone not do something:

(1')
help/allow/permit/enable someone to avoid doing something

(2')
keep/prevent/hinder someone from doing something

Nov 29th 2011 06:20 jve_84
Tony先生 hits the nail on the head here. In other words; math lets me ~x = math helps me to ~x.
Nov 28th 2011 14:29 jve_84

  • (A) When solving math problems, I less easily make careless mistakes than when other subjects ones.
  • (A) When solving math problems, I make careless mistakes less easily than when in other subjects ones.

1 people think this correction is good.  

  • (A) is a sentence my friend wrote, and (B) is one I've rewritten.
  • (A) is a sentence my friend wrote, and (B) is the one I've rewritten.

 

  • And I'd appreciate if you'd told me another good example!
  • And I'd appreciate it if you'd told me another good example!

 

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