"The white wool knits much easier than the blue wool.&q

Milky   Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:47 pm GMT
Does this sentence work for you?

"The white wool knits much easier than the blue wool."
SpaceFlight   Tue Jan 24, 2006 11:52 pm GMT
/D@ waIt wUl nIts mVtS izi@` DE@n D@ blu wUl/.
Donny   Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:20 am GMT
</D@ waIt wUl nIts mVtS izi@` DE@n D@ blu wUl/.>

????
beverly   Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:34 am GMT
Knitting with the white wool is much easier than knitting with the blue.
Pos   Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:06 am GMT
Is the verb "knits" intransitive there?
Travis   Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:34 am GMT
For me "The white wool knits much easier than the blue wool" would be:

/D@ "waIt "wUl "nIts "izi@r DEn D@ "blu "wUl/

[d@."w@I?."w5=."nI?."tsi:.zj@`.dE~:.n_d:@."b5u."w5=]
Kazoo   Wed Jan 25, 2006 3:04 am GMT
Works perfectly for me.
Jim   Wed Jan 25, 2006 4:39 am GMT
It works imperfectly for me. It grates on me because it's not the wool doing the knitting however I can't think of a better way of putting it that isn't (at least a little) cumbersome. I s'pose I say "The white wool is much easier to knit with than the blue wool."
M56   Wed Jan 25, 2006 8:06 am GMT
<It grates on me because it's not the wool doing the knitting however I can't think of a better way of putting it that isn't (at least a little) cumbersome. >

I think we all know that the wool is not doing the knitting. The construction is an example of the "English middle voice".

Similar:

This book reads well.
This bread cuts easily.

In those, do you think that we will understand "bread doing the cutting" or "book doing the reading?
Boy   Wed Jan 25, 2006 6:45 pm GMT
is this construction correct?


"The white wool is much easier to knit than that of blue wool."
M56   Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:14 am GMT
<"The white wool is much easier to knit than that of blue wool." >

Yes, it's correct.
M56   Thu Jan 26, 2006 8:15 am GMT
<"The white wool is much easier to knit than that of blue wool." >

Sorry... no, it's not correct.
Jim   Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:29 am GMT
No, I don't think that the wool is doing the knitting, the bread is doing the cutting or book doing the reading. I understand what's being meant: as I say it still does work for me. I guess it's the old middle voice in general which grates on me.

No, "The white wool is much easier to knit than that of blue wool." is not correct. "The white wool is much easier to knit than that of blue." would be correct but a little strange like a failing attempt to sound poetic.
M56   Fri Jan 27, 2006 12:36 am GMT
<I guess it's the old middle voice in general which grates on me.>

Jim is grated on easily.

;-)
Jim   Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:16 am GMT
I grate on easily.