Dear teachers,
I am confused of the word “Consequent”, and not sure if I used it correctly in the following sentence:
A traffic accident happened on Jan 5th, 2009.
Because of the accident ,the road was closed on consequent days until
the police finishes the investigation.
Please correct me if I am wrong, teachers.
Thank you.
Kitty
Hi,
Your use of ‘consequent’ is unfortunately not correct in this sentence … ‘consequent’ means ‘resulting’… an event that follows as a result of a previous event or action. I’ve listed some examples below.
The doctor demanded a study of " Falls and Consequent Injuries in Hospitalized Patients" . ( the injuries were a consequence of the falls)
The recession and consequent job-losses in England left many people homeless. ( the job-losses were a consequence of the recession)
The farmer’s use of dangerous pesticides and the consequent damage to the environment is a serious matter.( the damage is a consequence of the use of pesticides)
Possibly you have read that ‘consequent’ means ‘following’. This doesn’t work in your sentence.
Try substituting the word ‘resulting’ for 'consequent 'in your sentence and you’ll see it isn’t correct.The 'days ’ are not a result ( or consequence) of the accident.
If you want to use ‘consequent’ in this sentence, it is necessary to find the first action and its result.
The first action is the accident , then the police investigation follows as a result of the accident and the end-result is that the road remains closed for some days .
For Example…
The traffic accident on Jan 5th 2009 and the consequent police investigation meant that the road was closed for the next few days .(" until the police had finished the investigation" is perhaps not necessary as it would be understood but in any case " had completed their investigations" would sound better )
Hope this helps ! HH
“Consecutive,” was perhaps the intended word, although the whole sentence is very badly written.
Hi Kwfine,
The adjective ‘consequent’ is another word for ‘resultant’ indicating 'as a result of '.
In your text:
I have highlighted alternatives.
Alan
Kitosdad wrote “Consecutive,” was perhaps the intended word, although the whole sentence is very badly written.
Kitosdad, it’s indeed possible that kwfine was looking for ‘consecutive’ rather than ‘consequent’ but you are being perhaps a little unfair in describing the whole sentence as “very badly written” .
She may have been confused by ‘consequent’ , but her spelling is excellent and apart the error with ‘finishes’ ( incorrect tense and singular instead of plural ), I think she has done very well and should be praised for her work !
Regards, HH.
Thank you all for your help.
Hi Alan,
Is “on the days following” a set phrase, and is the word “following” an adverb in the sentence?
Thank you.
Kitty