Collocating the adjective "complicate".

Which nouns would you say collocate with “complicate” (the adjective)?

e.g.

adj. + noun

complicate structure
complicate pattern

How about,

complicate formation, architecture, compages, configuration, conformation, constitution, contexture, makeup, mechanism, rock fabric, structural fabric, etc.

But maybe I committed some morphological errors again.

If you did, I’m sure Jamie and Mr P will put you straight on it. :lol:

Here’s a few more:

a complicate fracture
a complicate-mucronate apex
a complicate stress distribution
a complicate piece
a complicate organism
a complicate mixture
a complicate maze
a complicate study
a complicate procedure
a complicate formalism
a complicate metre
a complicate task

I don’t hate it! :smiley:

Alas! How lonely it is down here with this non-native duo! I would greatly appreciate it if some academic expert in linguistics with his/her majority logic on English could condescendingly pass another judgement on this “adj. complicate” issue here.

When the ‘in future’ case ended up being condemned as Chinglish or telegraphese or psychobabble, I was stunned to such an extent that I tended to think we’d better subject to some deemster to learn English in his Disneyland otherwise we would be expelled without mercy to suck non-native or minority native ignorance. :frowning:

Strange thing is, the natives have all become experts on "complicate (adj.) over just a few days but they’re not able to comment on or provide collocation of the word.

As I’ve said many times, most of the comments here are sociolect, dialect, or idiolect-centric, so to speak. But then, what can we expect? Many native speakers really do only have experience in and knowledge of a limiting use of English.

Precisely. So nobody could possibly pass judgements or play god onto others without self-awareness of those sociolect, dialect, or idiolect-centric but with a loud voice: “we are the natives. Our English is real, yours false; We are clever boys/girls, you fools.”

You’ve got it in one. Not only that but, talking about most of the native-speakers here, “We British and Americans are the natives. Our English is real, yours, even if it’s Nigerian, Australian, Indian, Jamaican, or whatever, is false; We are clever boys/girls, you fools.” And "We are extremely vocal when you nonnatives make an error in judgement, but keep mum, play it down, or rally round, when one of ours makes the same error.

Kids, eh? :wink:

Just to add a two cents to what you said, they’d better bear in their clever brains as well that there is also Irish and “Finnegans Wake” is not psychobabble.

Hiberno-English/Anglo-Irish/Irish English, yet to be discussed on this forum?

And Chinglish. :smiley: :smiley:

Sorry but… complicate is also an adjective? :o:O:O

Indeed, but isn’t the term seen as pejorative?

Did you miss this thread, Nessie?

english-test.net/forum/ftopic25203.html

I agree. The natives tend to refer, say, Singaporean English or Hong Kong English to the term… Nay, whatever they think outside their Shangri-La. Even my poor Japanilish was once refered to: ‘In future’ it is. Had I been a Disneylander, I would have cried out then: C’moooon, gimmy a break! :smiley:

BTW, I have both Singaporean and Hong Kong friends and their English is unique and excellent.

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Nobody can stop you from using ‘complicate’ in the original sentence (i.e. in the other ‘complicate’ thread) if you are determined to do so. Whether that’s the best word to use in that sentence is another question entirely.

I would suggest that the particular version of English (i.e. Australian, American, British, Nigerian, Indian, etc.) has nothing whatsoever to do with whether ‘complicate’ is the best choice of words in sweetpumpkin’s original question.
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And often the answer is based on personal preference and need, isn’t it?

And how did you reach that conclusion? What research into those variants have you done?

Molly isn’t non-native, Haihao.

MrP

Mr P, when you have the proof of such, post it here. Until then, save your cheap shots for your girl/boyfriends.