 #2 (permalink) Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:08 am which one is correct? |
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#1 is wrong; #2 is at best awkward; #3 is OK.
If you want to use "to learn", as in #1, you need to say "exercise can help one to learn", or "exercise can help people to learn", or something of that nature. |
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Dozy
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 17 Jun 2011
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| #3 (permalink) Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:35 am which one is correct? |
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After an hour of pondering over this dilemma, I think I can finally shed some light on the issue...
'CAN' is a modal verb analogous to 'TO BE ABLE TO' (this is to say, 'it can' means the same as 'it is able to'). Replacing 'can' with its respective conjugation, we'll examine your examples.
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| Exercise is able to help to learn |
An infinitive phrase (a phrase which begins with the full infinitive of a verb) must contain either an OBJECT or a MODIFIER. In our case, the phrase 'to help to learn' doesn't contain an object or a modifier; therefore, this shouldn't be considered a valid sentence.
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| Exercise is able to help for learning |
'For' is a preposition which is able to mean 'with regard to' ( src.: http://bit.ly/pd1To7 ). Knowing this, we rewrite the statement: 'exercise is able to help with regard to learning'. Personally, I would consider this a valid statement; however, it's SLIGHTLY ambiguous... For example, another meaning of 'for' is 'on behalf of'/'instead of' (same source). As such, you would rarely see this sentence written in this way.
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| Exercise is able to help with learning |
This phrase ALSO suffers from SOME ambiguity but is MUCH CLEARER THAN THE OTHER TWO. The only reason I say this is because 'with' is most commonly used to mean 'alongside'/'in combination with', which would fit this situation almost perfectly.
SUMMARY
The concision of a sentence must be balanced with its clarity.
If a sentence is extremely concise, yet extremely ambiguous, it should be considered poor - at best
If a sentence offers little concision and ambiguity, it should also be considered poor.
However, if a sentence offers little ambiguity alongside startling brevity, it should be considered well-formed.
So... 3. |
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 Code2004
You can meet me at english-test.net
Joined: 14 Aug 2011
Posts: 93
Location: North Lincolnshire, UK
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