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As a person whose first language is not English, I find phrasal verbs one of the most challenging parts of the language. In fact I just searched set upon and wa
by JorgeGT 10y ago
As a person whose first language is not English, I find phrasal verbs one of the most challenging parts of the language. In fact I just searched set upon and was greatly surprised that it means attacking violently! I would have never guessed that from the words alone.
- alanfalcon 10y agoContext helps: "His foe set upon him with such vigor that he knew he was hopelessly outmatched. He began to silently pray for assistance."
- Angostura 10y agoFrom what I recall, 'set' is the word in the English language which has most meanings - over 50.
- gotodengo 10y agoIn this case the phrase is a more artistic way of describing the beginning of a fight. Think of "John set upon Mike angrily" as John set, or selected, Mike as his target. It's also a great example of the topic at hand because the same phrase could be used like "The book was set upon the table." Describing a book that was placed on a table. Each version uses the same common vocabulary, to describe wildly different things.
- toothbrush 10y agoOr, John was set upon going to the movies tonight, but his friend refused to join him. Admittedly, that sounds a bit old-fashioned.
- ghaff 10y agoSet on is probably a bit more natural in that context although I'm not sure either is particularly common phraseology.
- jdmichal 10y agoHonestly any use of upon sounds old-fashioned. It's generally been replaced by on, except in a few contexts by up. Even Google defines it as "a more formal term for on".
- johnlbevan2 10y agoWhilst this ambiguity is a pain for those learning the language and for clarity, it's also one of the things which makes English a great language for puns/wordplay. I suspect that having a reduced vocabulary would likely increase the chances of ambiguity, so could be a great source of CNL puns.
- johnlbevan2 10y agoOr phonetically similar / by moving a space: "John was set up on a date" - someone arranged a romantic encounter for John. "John was setup on a date" - on some specific day John was assembled. "John was set upon a date" - John assaulted a piece of fruit.
- aptwebapps 10y agoThe last one made me laugh but you need to remove the 'was'.
- LeifCarrotson 10y agoNo, it still works. Someone else has caused John to assault the fruit. "The guard dog was set upon an intruder, while John was set upon a date."