Help me jazz up my English paper with science vocab

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion revolves around enhancing a sentence from Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaughterhouse-Five" by incorporating scientific vocabulary related to diffusion and atmospheric pressure. Users suggest various alternatives to describe the loss of carbon dioxide from champagne, emphasizing terms like "efflux" and "assimilation." The conversation also delves into the grammatical distinction between "its" and "it's," with participants providing insights on possessive forms and contractions. Ultimately, the consensus leans towards maintaining clarity and simplicity in writing while integrating scientific terminology.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic scientific concepts such as diffusion and atmospheric pressure.
  • Familiarity with literary analysis, particularly in the context of Kurt Vonnegut's works.
  • Knowledge of English grammar rules, specifically the use of possessive forms and contractions.
  • Experience with vocabulary enhancement techniques in academic writing.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the concept of "efflux" in biological and chemical contexts.
  • Explore the principles of diffusion and its applications in various scientific fields.
  • Study advanced grammar rules regarding possessive forms and contractions in English.
  • Examine literary techniques for integrating scientific vocabulary into creative writing.
USEFUL FOR

Writers, students, and educators looking to enhance their academic writing with scientific vocabulary, as well as those interested in the grammatical nuances of the English language.

  • #31
zoobyshoe said:
"...or an innocent bottle of champagne killed by careless prolonged exposure to a carbon dioxide-sucking ambient atmosphere."
This one gets my vote.

Or ... "the life of an innocent bottle of champagne drained by the disinterested carbon-dioxide sucking ambient atmosphere." ... but only if you want to convey that life is heartlessly ended one way or another with the method of death a mere triviality. Personally, I find it hard to compare the holocaust with the deaths in the Dresden bombings. One was true evil while the other was callous.
 
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  • #32
icvotria said:
You're all so nice! I'd've teased me about all the definitelys till kingdom come.
If it'll make you feel any better, I'll tease you for the rest of your life. I don't want to, though, because I know what kind of night-life you lead and consider it amazing that you can post at all. :-p

icvotria said:
Edit: Definitelies? Definitely's? I don't know anything anymore... :bugeye: :-p
This is something of an unregulated situation. Usually for something like that, just for the sake of clarity, I use "definitely"'s or definitely's. The apostrophe is used to separate the original quote from the pluralizer. It's optional for use in numbers. ie: "4s" and "4's" are both technically correct.
 
  • #33
Heh, I was just reading about this here. If there is any confusion, its usually doesn't act as a pronoun (in fact, I can't think of any time it acts as a pronoun); Its usually (always?) acts as a determiner, and a determiner always comes before and modifies a noun. Some words that act as determiners: the, a, this, two, and some. The distinction is important because pronouns function much like nouns while determiners do not (they function more like adjectives).

Anywho, I think the easiest trick is to try to replace its with the in the sentence. The always acts as a determiner, so if the works, use its. Otherwise, use it's. Meh, I don't know if this trick is foolproof though... That book is great so far, easy to follow, and has practice questions if anyone needs clarification.
Edit: Oh, right, how are you to remember? Well, its and the both have three symbols, while the apostrophe in it's makes four symbols. Just a suggestion. :biggrin:
Eh, I keep wanting to call determiners delimiters!
 
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  • #34
i just wanted to thank you guys for those first few posts about its vs it's... really made me laugh... "it's its... no its it's... no its its... nuh it's it's!" hehe... wow I'm amused...

at any rate, not that i think wastofo2 is around to care... but i think i'd use a completely different analogy than the champagne one... i realize the idea... but i think i'd talk about like... yeast or something that conceivably dies at least... but meh...
 
  • #35
honestrosewater said:
If there is any confusion, its usually doesn't act as a pronoun (in fact, I can't think of any time it acts as a pronoun); Its usually (always?) acts as a determiner, and a determiner always comes before and modifies a noun. Some words that act as determiners: the, a, this, two, and some. The distinction is important because pronouns function much like nouns while determiners do not (they function more like adjectives).
This is such a complex way to do it, though. It's easier just to ask if what you're expressing is a possessive, or a contraction of "it is".
 
  • #36
Gale17 said:
i just wanted to thank you guys for those first few posts about its vs it's... really made me laugh... "it's its... no its it's... no its its... nuh it's it's!" hehe... wow I'm amused...
I enjoyed this attempt to settle the matter:
Knavish said:
"Its" is the possessive. Stop this debate.
 
  • #37
zoobyshoe said:
This is such a complex way to do it, though. It's easier just to ask if what you're expressing is a possessive, or a contraction of "it is".
Yeah, the contraction is probably easiest. But I thought the problem was that the possessive case is usually formed by adding 's, making the contraction idea confusing. So I was suggesting basically the same thing; Instead of focusing on what the word looks like, look at how the word behaves in the sentence. Meh, I thought another option might be helpful.

So Strunk & White group its with theirs, yours, and ours. I think it makes more sense to group its with their, your, and our. Look how they behave:

That food is theirs.
?That food is its.
Their food is yummy.
Its food is yummy.
The food it yummy.

Maybe you can use its as a pronoun? The example they give is:

It's a wise dog that scratches its own fleas.

It's a wise dog that scratches our own fleas.
*It's a wise dog that scratches ours own fleas.

Ugh.
 

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