Serious discussion!![Problem Solved]
"The game isn't doing anything. It's an inanimate (and somewhat ill-defined, and potentially abstract) entity incapable of taking action. Were it being bought often, we might colloquially say the game was selling, when in fact what we mean is that a company is selling the game. The game is not taking the action there, it's just a colloquial turn of phrase. That doesn't mean that an equivalent such phrasing must exist for everything else that could happen to the game, nor that there's anything lacking about a description of the situation for which there's no such phrasing. If the game is being sold, then the company is selling the game. The game is not doing anything, but we might say, in casual conversation that "the game is selling" as a useful language shortcut, and it would be understood what we really meant because that's a fairly common usage. If the game is not being sold, but being given away, then the company is giving away the game. The game is again not doing anything. The lack of a similar common turn of phrase does not mean there's something wrong with the description of what's happening. | |
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Processing... Processing... <Short Circuit>
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" Alright! We're getting closer here! So now down to the very last question. Was I wrong to say that the game was selling, in that particular conversation? If so, what would be a better "turn of phrase that should of used" remember i was having a casual conversation with a friend. so lets use casual sentences. Last edited by sirjonnyboy on Aug 20, 2012, 9:19:09 PM
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The colloquial shortcut translates to: "The object in question is popular".
So it would be reasonable to use the term 'X is selling' to mean 'X is popular' or 'X is being picked up by a lot of people' even if you can't physically lift a download :P If you have account problems please [url="http://www.pathofexile.com/support"]Email Support[/url]
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" This answers my quesiton under my Mark Quote. Thank you |
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Also keep in mind, for that to be valid, the listener must also natively translate 'is selling' to the connotative 'is popular' for it to be a useful phrase within that conversation.
So it's not entirely about 'was it correct to use' but rather 'was it understandable within the context of the conversation you were having.' To confound that issue further, even if they did understand that meaning, they might not accept the usage (which is probably how you got here) However not accepting usage is a less strong argument than alternatives. If you have account problems please [url="http://www.pathofexile.com/support"]Email Support[/url]
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" Oh, he understood, He was just mad at me cause i thought Slenderman was a dumb game, and didn't want to play it. So he took what i said and made an argument out of it, to shut me up. |
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I am so very, very sad, that I missed this conversation.
"the premier Action RPG for hardcore gamers."
-GGG Happy hunting/fishing |
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