How many dressing expressing do you know?

[Valery]

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #87 "Common English Errors (3)", question 9

I keep my favorite ring ......... the dresser.

(a) under
(b) more behind
(c) lower than
(d) under the back of

English Grammar Tests, Elementary Level

ESL/EFL Test #87 "Common English Errors (3)", answer 9

I keep my favorite ring under the dresser.

Correct answer: (a) under
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what does the word "dresser" mean?

Valery

[Conchita]

In the US, a dresser is a dressing table (a bedroom table, usually with drawers and a mirror).

In the UK, a dresser is a piece of kitchen or dining room furniture with open shelves for displaying plates and cupboards below.

[Yankee]

I've always found this test sentence very strange. 'Under' seems just as valid to me as 'under the back of' (i.e. they seem equally strange). Does a British "dresser" not have a "back"? Where exactly would "under the dresser" be? On the floor under the dresser? (That would seem an odd place to keep a favorite ring -- that would not only be an inconvenient location but would also put the ring at risk of being sucked up by the vacuum cleaner. ) Or is 'under' just an error in the test?

I myself keep my favorite ring on the dresser. dressers

[Conchita]

I agree: under the dresser isn't a very conventional place to keep a ring, unless there's a secret lower compartment or other such hiding place there (hope we're not giving ideas to burglars).

[Linda]

I think we should try to keep this about professional guidance rather than about personal opinions.
For example, if your favorite ring is important to you, why would you keep it in plain view 'on the dresser.' Secondly, if someone wants to keep their favorite ring under their dresser, that is certainly their problem and choice to make, right? Thirdly, a lot of people don't have carpet, they might have hardwood floors, so your vacuum comment really doesn't stand up here either.
As well, 'under the back of' the dresser makes no sense because as far as I know the backs of dressers are flat.
Anyway, just thought I'd clarify those things because it seems personal opinions are taking over here.
Take care.
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[Yankee]

Hi Linda

Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but more than one of the choices is possible and one isn't really "more correct" than the other. But both are odd.

I agree that people are free to do with their own rings whatever they see fit. However, trying to test the preposition 'under' without so much as a hint as to why a favorite ring might be intentionally placed in such an odd location just leads to confusion. Testing a beginner's knowledge of either the preposition on or in would be a more logical choice here.

Let's assume there is, in fact, someone who regularly hides a favorite ring under their (North American) dresser because they are worried that the ring might otherwise be stolen from their bedroom. That person may well want to make sure that the ring gets shoved all the way back to the wall so that it ends up hidden as far out of sight and reach as possible. In other words, the ring may well end up next to the wall, under the back of the dresser (rather than the more easily accessible under the front of the dresser or under the side of the dresser locations).

You pointed out that "the backs of dressers are flat". I agree that the wood on the back of a dresser is generally flat, but I don't agree that the wood always extends all the way to the floor. The sentence indicates that there is enough clearance off the floor to put a ring somewhere under the dresser. Precisely how much clearance there is (and where) is not specified. So, it's not unreasonable to assume that not only the front, but also the sides and the back will have enough clearance for strategic ring placement.

The bottoms of dressers are all a little different. A few stand completely flat on the floor all the way around (i.e. no space between the dresser and the floor anywhere). Some dressers just have a few small areas on the front that clear the floor. Others stand on small feet, creating some clearance from the floor on all sides. Others have legs. Just look at the pictures that Google turns up. The clearance off the floor varies from none at all to quite a lot.

The test sentence is categorized as beginner level. It requires a beginner to know what a dresser is. This is a bit challenging right off the bat with both a British meaning and an American one. The test-taker cannot, however, be expected to know precisely what style the bottom of the dresser in the sentence is.

Let's say our beginner does know basically what an American dresser is and manages to correctly surmise that the intent in the sentence is to hide the ring. If the beginner has actually seen various dressers, but it's the style with 6-inch feet that comes to mind during the test, then our test-taker would be perfectly justified in thinking that the best hiding place is under the back of the dresser.

Bye the way, there are vacuum cleaners that are designed for floors that are not carpeted. I have been using a vacuum cleaner on hardwood floors for years. My vacuum works very well on wood and tile, but it is awfully easy to vacuum up a small object that has accidentally landed under furniture.

Amy

[Linda]

Amy,
Again, I heard your points but I still don't think that they validate what you said in the first place. Because of Alan's comments, I will change the question but this whole conversation is pretty silly and uses up a lot of the students' valuable time. This forum is for the students - not for teachers to discuss rather meaningless opinions.
Just to prove that point again - some people don't use vacuums on their hardwood floors because they are made of high-quality wood and they don't want to scratch the floors or the varnish etc. This is a matter of personal opinion, again.
And, the reason under the back is not OK is because many students learning English will say that in place of just 'under.' That's what I'm testing. For example, beginners have said 'under the back of my pillow.' When they should say, 'Under my pillow.'
I think we should try and focus on the students rather than our personal opinions.
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[Yankee]

Yes, I agree that you should focus on facts. And the fact remains that keeping your favorite ring under a dresser is hardly a typical thing to do. I attempted to give some reasons why the sentence seemed so odd and confusing -- and for why I thought it might just be a typo. It was you who chose to take that personally and go on the attack.

[Torsten]

Linda and Amy, I think you both are ESL professionals with a lot of experiences under your belts. It is great that the two of you are exchanging ideas and opinions because it gives us the opportunity to make our site even better. Let's try and focus on the positive effects of this conversation. Linda has created a large number of very useful tests and Amy has reviewed most of them. Now Amy has spoken out loud. I guess there are quite a number of ESL trainers who have read our tests without any giving us any feedback. The same holds true for the vast majority of users. If somebody tells us what they think, this means they want to contribute to the project. Our purpose is to create a site that is constantly growing and improving.

As with any company, the challenge is keep harmony amongst all the team members. It is often difficult to distinguish between personal issues and hard facts and the success of any company is determined by its staff's ability to work as a team and achieve something that no single person would be capable of.

In a conventional setting this type of conversation would take place behind closed doors. But why not talk about the things that really matter? Grammar and vocabulary are important but what really counts is whether or not we can work as a team.

Let me know what you think.
Regards,
Torsten
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TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Linda]

Amy,
After a large number of posts, the fact remains that this forum is about clear and concise responses to students' questions. I don't think long responses about differing opinions is appropriate.
In the future, if you have any problems after the first couple of posts, you should send me a private message so we don't take up all of this space that is for the students.
As far as the confusing dresser, the question doesn't exist any longer.
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[Alan]

Hi,

I just thought I'd lighten things up a bit and offer the following:

A dressing conversation

A Which address did you send that letter to?

B Are you addressing me?

A Well, I certainly wouldn’t be addressing the dresser, would I ?

B It all depends if you mean this cupboard or the dresser at the theatre.

A Yes, I am talking about the address of that dresser. .

B Well, you don’t have to look at me as if you’re dressing me down, do you?

A I wish you’d address my original question. And stop putting all that dressing on your salad.

B Yes, I did send the letter to the dresser at the address of the theatre and just for your information I do like dressing on my salad.

A I suppose the dresser will be in the dressing room at the theatre and you could see if she got the letter.

B No, she’s not working as a dresser there tonight because she and I are going to see the play. We’ve got seats in the dress circle.

A You’d better hurry because I see you’re still in your dressing gown..

B Ah, but you wait. When I do go out I shall be dressed to kill

A
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[Yankee]

[Englishuser]

Hi,

I don't claim to be the right person to decide about tests designed for learners of English, but don't you think learners would benefit more from constructing more or less logical sentences?

Englishuser

[Torsten]

[NinaZara]

I think all posts in this thread are full with personal opinions(including Linda's). I never believe that anybody can distinguish facts from them and I'd say nothing is wrong with delivering personal opinion. Though they claim that they can, and I believe they believe they can.

Well, how can it not be personal?When somebody takes her job seriously and gives her all, she used her time and energy, it's her time,it's her time away from family and friends,it's her time.

So when people say,'Don't take this personally' a very committed person is likely to say,Damn right that's not personal.(please excuse my languange, I'm just trying to make a point).

However, I do think that the way we deliver our opinion is important