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by samyak » Sun May 30, 2010 5:53 am
677. Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator.
(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on

Is 'sighted on' at valid idiomatic usage?
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Source: — Sentence Correction |

by this_time_i_will » Sun May 30, 2010 6:39 am
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by grockit_andrea » Sun May 30, 2010 6:52 am
samyak wrote:677. Sunspots, vortices of gas associated with strong electromagnetic activity, are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on the Sun's poles or equator.
(A) are visible as dark spots on the surface of the Sun but have never been sighted on
(B) are visible as dark spots that never have been sighted on the surface of the Sun
(C) appear on the surface of the Sun as dark spots although never sighted at
(D) appear as dark spots on the surface of the Sun, although never having been sighted at
(E) appear as dark spots on the Sun's surface, which have never been sighted on

Is 'sighted on' at valid idiomatic usage?
Yes, "sighted on" is a valid usage. It's not common, and I wouldn't really consider it an idiom, but in this context it's fine. And as far as the answers go here, POE is as follows:

B. "Never have been sighted..." here seems to be describing "dark spots," not "sunspots."
C. "Sighted at" is incorrect; to describe something on the surface of the sun, you'd want "sighted on."
D. "Sighted at" is wrong here again.
E. "Which have never been sighted on" modifies "the Sun's surface," and that's incorrect.

That leaves A as the correct answer.
Andrea A.
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by samyak » Sun May 30, 2010 7:22 am
The POE is understood. But I have a standalone question in this context. Why do you think 'sighted at' is a wrong idiomatic usage here? In which context do you think 'sightet at' will be better suited?
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by grockit_andrea » Sun May 30, 2010 11:03 am
I think "sighted at" is incorrect because the sun isn't a location in any conventional sense. You could say, "Celebrities have been sighted at the L.A. farmers' market," because that's a place one would go to. But sunspots aren't at the sun, they're on the sun.
Andrea A.
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