Elicit

PS   Sun May 17, 2009 5:03 pm GMT
Hey,
I have a doubt regarding the usage of the word 'elicit' . Mostly this word is used along with an infinitive but I had like to ask that can we omit the infinitive? Is this phrase correct -> "Elicit the fun within" ???...
fine   Sun May 17, 2009 5:27 pm GMT
That's fine. That's in the imperative. You can also use it like this: "He elicited a response."
PS   Sun May 17, 2009 6:00 pm GMT
See elicit is a transitive verb as per the dictionary . So when you say "He elicited a response" , it uses elicit as transitive verb but in "Elicit the fun within" , elicit is not acting as transitive verb . Please correct me if I am wrong and yeah do think more on the usage as I have to use this phrase in somewhere very important .
huh   Sun May 17, 2009 6:22 pm GMT
I suppose you could say that, but I've never heard anyone use that expression. It sounds sort of like "Colorless green ideas sleep furiously." It sounds grammatically correct, but also sounds completely meaningless.
tbd   Sun May 17, 2009 8:14 pm GMT
Just don't confuse it with illicit ;-)
PS   Sun May 17, 2009 9:11 pm GMT
Its not about the meaning coz i have to use it as a tagline . Its just that i wanna make sure that it is grammatically correct .Taglines are meant to be short and catchy . & yeah i m not confusin it with illicit dude . ;) . So guys help me out wid this .
Travis   Mon May 18, 2009 5:53 am GMT
The thing is that "elicit" is very much a highly formal literary word - just about anything containing it is unlikely to be "catchy" at all in the first place.
PS   Mon May 18, 2009 9:59 am GMT
Leave it to me whether that phrase is catchy or meaningless . I just want to know whether that phrase "Elicit the fun within" is grammatically correct or not , whether it is approved or not . I am asking your help in this matter . Hope to see a better response . :)
rapp   Mon May 18, 2009 4:07 pm GMT
I'm not a grammarian, but I am a native speaker, if that helps, and it sounds fine to me.
umm   Mon May 18, 2009 5:05 pm GMT
It's gramatically incorrect to end a sentence with "within". Of course not many people care about that anymore. It doesn't sound "catchy" at all--it sounds like something a non-native speaker would add to his tag-line.
Travis   Mon May 18, 2009 5:54 pm GMT
>>It's gramatically incorrect to end a sentence with "within". Of course not many people care about that anymore. It doesn't sound "catchy" at all--it sounds like something a non-native speaker would add to his tag-line.<<

You mean, prescriptivists arbitrarily decided that it was "incorrect" to end a sentence with any preposition, "within" included, contrary to actual English syntax.
umm   Mon May 18, 2009 6:39 pm GMT
Indeed. If it weren't for the prescriptivists, who would dictate English usage?
rapp   Mon May 18, 2009 6:47 pm GMT
So, to be grammatical, it should be "Elicit internal fun", which is illicit, bringing this conversation full-circle.
Travis   Mon May 18, 2009 7:57 pm GMT
>>Indeed. If it weren't for the prescriptivists, who would dictate English usage?<<

The people who speak it natively.
Shuimo   Mon May 18, 2009 8:08 pm GMT
If you folks can't agree on who is to dictate English usage then I, Shuimo, volunteer to dictate English usage.