[PLUG-TALK] More language questions

John Jason Jordan johnxj at comcast.net
Mon Feb 25 07:32:14 UTC 2008


I need to survey people regarding the following list of sentences. The question is, do you think the sentence is good/normal or bad/weird. That is, do you think an ordinary speaker of English might utter the sentence in ordinary conversation. Note that all the sentences might be acceptable in poetry and other literary situations. They might also be heard if the speaker was deliberately trying to be different or humorous. I am only interested in your opinion whether the sentences would be heard in ordinary speech by a native English speaker, absent special circumstances.

Please just indicate below the sentence if it is good/normal or bad/weird. You may feel that some are on the edge - if so, just select the closest of the two choices. This is an opinion survey only; there is no right or wrong, there are no exams afterwards, and your opinion is as valid as anyone else's. Thanks in advance. I appreciate your help.


The wind flickered the candle.

The birds flew away, to escape the cat.

The kite flew over the beach.

The candle flickered.

The candle flickered deliberately.

The signal light flashed deliberately.

Fred flew the birds away (by throwing stones).

The candle flickered, to scare the guests.

Dad flew the kite over the beach.

The sailors flashed the signal light.

The kite flew over the beach deliberately.

The birds flew away.

The birds flew away deliberately.

The signal light flashed.

The signal light flashed, to get our attention.

The kite flew over the beach, to amuse the children.




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