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Idiom 'Centers on + ?'

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by Uva@90 » Sat Feb 08, 2014 5:41 am
Hi All,
I do have doubt in the idiom Centers on + noun

I saw sample example for this idiom,
The story centers on the struggle for meaning in a chaotic universe.

So could you explain is the above example rightly framed ?

Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Uva.
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat Feb 08, 2014 9:59 am
Uva I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking what that sentence means? Or whether the idiom is properly used?

"The story centers on the struggle for meaning" implies that "the struggle for meaning" is at the center of the story. It is the central part and focus of the story.

The idiom is properly used.

-Patrick
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by Uva@90 » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:55 pm
Patrick_GMATFix wrote:Uva I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking what that sentence means? Or whether the idiom is properly used?

"The story centers on the struggle for meaning" implies that "the struggle for meaning" is at the center of the story. It is the central part and focus of the story.

The idiom is properly used.

-Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your reply.
The Idiom states that 'Centers on' is followed by 'Noun'
But in the example,
'centers on' is followed by 'the struggle for meaning',which is a verb. So, how the idiom is correctly used?

Please correct me where I am going wrong ?

Thanks.
Regards,
Uva
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by Bill@VeritasPrep » Sat Feb 08, 2014 7:58 pm
Uva@90 wrote:
Patrick_GMATFix wrote:Uva I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you asking what that sentence means? Or whether the idiom is properly used?

"The story centers on the struggle for meaning" implies that "the struggle for meaning" is at the center of the story. It is the central part and focus of the story.

The idiom is properly used.

-Patrick
Hi Patrick,
Thanks for your reply.
The Idiom states that 'Centers on' is followed by 'Noun'
But in the example,
'centers on' is followed by 'the struggle for meaning',which is a verb. So, how the idiom is correctly used?

Please correct me where I am going wrong ?

Thanks.
Regards,
Uva
Struggle is used as a noun there, with "for meaning" as a prepositional phrase modifying struggle.
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by Patrick_GMATFix » Sat Feb 08, 2014 9:56 pm
Hi Uva,

As bill explained, in "the story centers on the struggle", "struggle" is a noun.

Whenever you see "a, an, the" a possessive pronoun such as "my, your, our, their", or a possessive noun such as "John's, the company's" a noun will follow (though sometimes there will be an adjective between the noun and the words above eg: the green cat)

Consider the following:
My brothers run marathons frequently so they completed their new long-distance run without too much trouble. My youngest sister's run on the other hand was a lot more difficult because she has had little training. My older sisters also run all the time, but they only do so when I am not around so I have never seen them run.

the 1st "run" is a verb (its subject is "brothers")
the 2nd "run" is a noun (notice that it's "their run")
the 4th "run" is a noun (it is preceded by a possessive noun "my sister's run")
the 3rd "run" is a verb (its subject is "sisters")
the 4th "run" is a verb in the infinitive (basic) form; it does not have a subject.

Hope that helps you figure out how to distinguish a verb from a noun,
-Patrick
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by Uva@90 » Sat Feb 08, 2014 10:32 pm
Patrick_GMATFix wrote:Hi Uva,

As bill explained, in "the story centers on the struggle", "struggle" is a noun.

Whenever you see "a, an, the" a possessive pronoun such as "my, your, our, their", or a possessive noun such as "John's, the company's" a noun will follow (though sometimes there will be an adjective between the noun and the words above eg: the green cat)

Consider the following:
My brothers run marathons frequently so they completed their new long-distance run without too much trouble. My youngest sister's run on the other hand was a lot more difficult because she has had little training. My older sisters also run all the time, but they only do so when I am not around so I have never seen them run.

the 1st "run" is a verb (its subject is "brothers")
the 2nd "run" is a noun (notice that it's "their run")
the 4th "run" is a noun (it is preceded by a possessive noun "my sister's run")
the 3rd "run" is a verb (its subject is "sisters")
the 4th "run" is a verb in the infinitive (basic) form; it does not have a subject.

Hope that helps you figure out how to distinguish a verb from a noun,
-Patrick
Patrick,
Thanks a Ton:)
You explained so clearly and easily.
Thanks again.

Regards,
Uva.
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