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Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four"



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
'Act' (adverb+adjective) | 'own' as an adjective
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Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four" Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:18 am  Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four"
 

Hi

The proverb is:

Two and two makes four.

What if I write "make four"? Will it be considered incorrect?

Thanks in advance

Tom
Tom
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 1976

Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four" Wed Jun 28, 2006 8:40 am  Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four"
 

.
Yes, but this is not a proverb, to my knowledge, it is just a well-worn truism.
.
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Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four" Fri Jun 30, 2006 6:56 am  Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four"
 

Dear Mr. Micawber

Could you please tell me what well known truisms are? When and how are they used?

Thanks in advance

Tom
Tom
I'm a Communicator ;-)


Joined: 30 May 2006
Posts: 1976

Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four" Fri Jun 30, 2006 8:16 am  Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four"
 

.
Well-worn, not well-known. This is not a linguistic term; it is part of my conversation about language. Proverbs are traditional sayings that provide advice: forewarned is forearmed; a stitch in time saves nine.

Two and two make(s) four, however, tells us nothing; it is a boring, obvious truth, like
Six of one and half a dozen of the other
or That's what you get. They are little conversation fillers, sociolinguistic devices to grease the wheels of communication. They are also called cliches, bromides, set phrases, etc.
.
_________________
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who teaches English for a living at Mister Micawber's
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Mister Micawber

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'Act' (adverb+adjective) | 'own' as an adjective
ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms Well-worn truism: "Two and two makes four" All times are GMT + 2 Hours
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