Hi guys, I want to write "It was an exhausting task and one that compelled James to his knees." Does compel work here? I personally don't think it does, but I just can't think of a suitable alternative. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
yes, 'driven' makes much better sense... i don't see 'compelled' making any in that context, sorry to say... that said, it would work with a small addition: but it's still an awkward sentence, with 'and one' stuck in there for no good reason...
Building upon what Maia said, you could do something like, "It was an exhausting task - one that compelled James to drop to his knees." Someone please tell me if this is incorrect, but it may clear up the whole 'awkward sentence' thing if 'compelled' is the word the OP wants.
Just checked the online dictionary. If 'compel' is used to mean 'to force or drive something' (as opposed to a necessity or need) it's a transitive verb. That means it needs an object. "James to his knees" isn't really a sensible end to this verb/object relationship. You need the 'to drop to' bit as well. Because you're forcing the drop, not the knees? If that makes sense? Well, it made sense when I wrote it...
