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  1. Inouez

    Inouez New Member

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    Grammar After rumination,

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by Inouez, Dec 14, 2021.

    Hi

    This is my own composition.

    Is it proper to say,
    After rumination, I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned.
    ??

    I want to know if the "After rumination" usage is proper in this sentence.

    Inouez
     
  2. evild4ve

    evild4ve Critique is stranger than fiction Supporter Contributor

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    Certainly it is the proper term if one is a ruminant - such as a goat, a giraffe, or a deer.

    I am talking from a carnivorous perspective (feline) so must apologise in advance in case I have omitted your species or mislabelled you. But I am sure it must be a good idea to fill all one's stomachs with grass before departing on any long journey. And if the OP or one of their characters found the grass in Czech particularly delicious, it's only right they should tarry longer there to enjoy it.

    If the figurative use is intended (i.e. thinking), I'd suggest a little more context is needed. E.g. "After ruminating over my plans, I decided to tarry longer in Czech."
    I think we would usually prefer to change from the abstract noun to a participle agreeing with the person of the sentence where this can be done grammatically

    There might be a slight confict between "decided" and "than I planned" - which I think is from ambiguity: if they are both in the same tense as well as meaning similar things they may be felt to occur side-by-side or simultaneously.
    "than I had planned" might be clearer.
     
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  3. Madman

    Madman Life is Sacred Contributor

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    Well, this may be for each person or cow to interpret differently. But to me, since we are likely dealing with a human ruminating, the usage seems proper to me. I doubt a cow would ruminate on whether to tarry longer in Czech than it had planned or not.
     
  4. Seven Crowns

    Seven Crowns Moderator Staff Supporter Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    I would either say:

    After ruminating, I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned.​

    or

    After much rumination, I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned.​

    I feel those are the most common English forms. Rumina-tion would almost need an intensifier before it. I can't explain why. It's just how it's usually worded.

    (I think it has to do with the syllable count. Rhythmically, you need a little wind up before that word to get it to flow. This has nothing to do with grammar, just the sound of the phrasing, rather. I can hear it, but I'm having trouble explaining it.)
    • After much rumination
    • After a moment of rumination
    • After lazy rumination
    • etc
    I can see how that "had" should be at the end (probably hiding inside of "than I'd planned"). That depends on how deep the MC is in the narration though. You could get away with either if the narration is relaxing in a casual voice.
     
  5. Bruce Johnson

    Bruce Johnson Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    I was thinking instead of 'had' just putting 'longer than I originally planned' or 'longer than originally planned'. I guess some may argue that 'originally' is redundant here but I think it may work for emphasis.
     
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  6. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    I agree with the general consensus—my initial reaction was it needs a few more words to modify rumination, it just feels too abrupt. Something like 'After a good deal of rumination... '

    But 'to tarry longer in Czech' sounds off as well. Shouldn't it either be 'in Czechoslovakia' (old form, no longer correct), or 'in the Czech Republic'? To say 'in Czech' sounds like you're speaking about the language, like 'in American' or 'in English'. Or is it used that way? I've never heard it used in that form.
     
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  7. Bruce Johnson

    Bruce Johnson Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    I think it's referred to as Czechia instead of the Czech Republic depending on the source. Only reason I know that is because of when I was monitoring the world COVID cases.
     
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  8. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    Good to know.
     
  9. Inouez

    Inouez New Member

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    Hi Guys

    Thank you so much for all your reply.

    Sorry for my short explanation.
    Actually, I am trying to prepare one simple sentence for English learners in Japan (high school students mainly) and there is already one fixed sentence,
    I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned.

    This sentence is for remembering the term "tarry".

    But then, I have an another need to add the word "rumination" to this sentence collection.
    There is no room for prepare brand new one sentence only for "rumination".

    That is why I decided that I would add "rumination" to other existing sentence.(not ruminating)
    I chose "I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned."

    But I was just wondering if
    After rumination, I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned.
    sentence is grammatically correct or not. That is the reason why I put this question to this thread.

    This sentence is purely for memorization (tarry and rumination).

    Mr Madman and Mr Seven Crowns kindly told me
    After much rumination, I decided to tarry longer in Czech than I planned.
    is good.

    So I will go with this sentence.

    Thank you very much.

    Inouez.





     
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