Hi,
Could you tell me if you find these sentences natural:
Many thanks in advance !
Hi LS,
I think all 3 are fine, except #1 does have a strong sense of being ‘slangy’, with the usage of ‘into’ to mean interested in. I’d maybe consider an alternate choice that isn’t quite as ‘slangy’, such as ‘interested in’, or maybe rewording slightly to allow usage of another synonym for ‘interested in’.
She was entranced by learning how children…
She was keen on learing how…
She was fascinated by how children acquire…
She was enticed by learning how…
Those are just a few alternatives that might suffice. #1 isn’t really wrong, per se, it’s just a bit too informal for my tastes.
Hi, Skrej
Many thanks for your suggestions !
You think “being into” something is slangy but “being keen on” something isn’t?! :shock:
I agree with you that “being into” is pretty slangy, but the remedy isn’t to replace it with another slangy-sounding expression.
Also, being “entranced by” or “enticed by” are way over the top for what Alex was trying to say. He’d be better off using simply “interested in” or “involved in” or “likes to…”
Hi Alex,
Are you fond of learning new slang expressions?
Cheers,
Ralf
Hi, Ralf
Yes, I am.
I find some of the slang I know funny, for example expressions such as “to pull a fast one on somebody” or “to put one over on somebody” seem laughable to me.
Hi Alex,
I think you find them amusing, or are you yanking my chain (pulling my leg) :lol:
Yeah, amusing ! That’s the word !
“Laughable” means “ridiculous”.
I felt there was something fishy about “laughtable”.
Yes. I think ‘keen on’ is nowhere near as slangy as ‘into’, again based off of dictionary definitions and classifications. You’ve expressed doubts about the veracity of Merriam Webster before, I know, so we’re unlikely to concur.
Agreed. However, in my opinion I wasn’t doing so. I think we’re arguing semantics and differences of opinion at this point.
To be “keen on” something, in terms of an interest, isn’t just slangy, but it’s dorky-sounding. To “be into” something is an expression that first reached popularity in the US with the counterculture of the '60s, so it has a somewhat serious but slangy tone. If you say someone is “keen on” something, you sound like you just stepped out of a 1950s sitcom. I wouldn’t use either in a context where I wanted to be taken somewhat seriously.
When you make “keen on” negative and say someone is “not keen on” something, it all changes. It doesn’t sound like slang anymore.
I agree that I wouldn’t use ‘keen on’ to say that I’m into something because I would sound old-fashioned or ‘dorky’. But that’s not slipping into slang; quite the opposite.
However that may be, I can imagine describing other people’s interests/habits in connection with ‘keen on’. It’s evident that my neighbours are keen on listening to techno music, for example.
I think I would expect to hear “…such stultifyingly X language that it…”, where X was an opprobrious adjective (e.g. dull, pompous), rather than simply “stultifying language”; but that may not be true for everyone.
(I would insert a “that” not because your version is ungrammatical, but to help the rhythm.)
Best wishes,
MrP
In Russian you would have to insert “что”, but in English the word “that” isn’t necessary in that sentence. It wasn’t ungrammatical without “that”.