What do you think of this sentence? Education related.

[Pen]

I figure more people are here than on education forums.

Which is better:

“Distressing is not the key.” 

“Being in distress is not the key.”  

 

Are both or either or neither acceptable sentences? 

 It was on a grammar test and in context was about worry and anxiety, not about distressing wood.  

 

[KungFuPanda]

8 minutes ago, Pen said:

I figure more people are here than on education forums.

Which is better:

“Distressing is not the key.” 

“Being in distress is not the key.”  

 

Are both or either or neither acceptable sentences? 

 It was on a grammar test and in context was about worry and anxiety, not about distressing wood.  

 

I’m inclined to think that distress is not a verb, but I’m also guilty of verbing things that ought not be verbed.  Of course, we could be talking about refinishing furniture and I would agree that distressing is often unnecessary. 

[Guest]

I think they are both terrible sentences. I would rephrase the whole thing as something like, “The key is not to be distressed.” 
 

[Terabith]

Yeah, I thought distressing was something you did to fabric.  

[SKL]

They are both weird sentences, but "being in distress" seems more correct than "distressing."

[SKL]

The use of key in the sentence seems very awkward.  Who writes these things?

[Guest]

50 minutes ago, SKL said:

The use of key in the sentence seems very awkward.  Who writes these things?

Right. Key is the subject of the sentence but it is placed at the end and negated by “not”. The “being distressed” is the part that should be negated. 

[Pen]

It was a computerized test, where he had to choose the best option, not a situation where he was free to craft his own sentence.  

I thought when my son showed me that a lot of the sentences were pretty bad.

He got immediate results (though not overall grade) and they wanted “Distressing is not the key.” He and I both thought that “distressing” was not a proper verb for the situation, and his choice was “Being in distress is not the key.” That was marked wrong.  

 

 

 

57 minutes ago, Quill said:

I think they are both terrible sentences. I would rephrase the whole thing as something like, “The key is not to be distressed.” 
 

 

Not an option - it was a choose from 4 possible variations situation, computerized multiple choice. 

 

44 minutes ago, SKL said:

The use of key in the sentence seems very awkward.  Who writes these things?

“Key” was in every option.   Idk who writes them, I guess some online pandemic school thing used by public school here. 

 I suspect that Maybe “they” were trying to present kids with ideas about not worrying to help with emotions in these times in the guise of an end of semester English Final exam. Or something.

 

 Some of the “sentences” made no sense at all. My son said you are just supposed to ignore that and choose the best even if it makes no sense. And apparently he knows how to do that as the computer agreed with most of his answers. Some were from lyrics of popular music that weren’t sentences, and the idea was to make them sentences.

The whole thing seemed likely to cause worry and anxiety, not relieve it. 

If he missed enough to not pass the test / class, I was considering ones where it might make sense to challenge them. 

 

 

[Guest]

That would bother me, if the test had only ill-crafted sentences and one was supposed to choose the “best” of two terrible options. 

 

[wathe]

16 minutes ago, Quill said:

Right. Key is the subject of the sentence but it is placed at the end and negated by “not”. The “being distressed” is the part that should be negated. 

I read "distressing" as the subject (gerund) and key as a predicate nominative.

I agree that it's a really bad sentence and I don;t really understand what the sentence is trying to say.

[Terabith]

Ah.  Yeah, my youngest is doing K12, and I have been spectacularly unimpressed with the curriculum for English and math.  It's amazing how bad all the answers are on many quizzes.  We've resorted to doing those two subjects as a family, and I, with my 4.0 as an English major and a masters degree, am pulling an 88 in 9th grade English.  My husband, with his masters in physics, is pulling an 86 in geometry.  

[Pen]

10 minutes ago, wathe said:

I read "distressing" as the subject (gerund) and key as a predicate nominative.

 

To you is “distressing” a proper gerund to mean acting stressed? If so, then it was the best / least bad sentence.  

If distressing does not properly act as a gerund to mean acting stressed then it was not.

Quote

I agree that it's a really bad sentence and I don;t really understand what the sentence is trying to say.

 

In context, it was part of a group of sentences about handling anxiety and worry.  Not exactly like this, but along these lines: 

“Worrying is not the key. Distressing is not the key. Instead, when feeling anxiety consider the following options: ...” 

Not exactly that, but along those lines.  (I made it more comprehensible than it was.) Many sentences would have a problem with multiple choice options for what would be better or “leave unchanged” as options. 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Pen

[Ausmumof3]

Neither of them make much sense particularly without context.

[Bootsie]

Was this simply a list of four sentences to choose from?  Or was there a context within which the sentence fitted? 

As a verb "distress" can mean to cause sorrow or pain.  So, does "distressing" mean the action of causing sorrow or pain to someone else, which is not the same as "being in distress"?  

[Pen]

2 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

Neither of them make much sense particularly without context.

 

1 minute ago, Bootsie said:

Was this simply a list of four sentences to choose from?  Or was there a context within which the sentence fitted? 

As a verb "distress" can mean to cause sorrow or pain.  So, does "distressing" mean the action of causing sorrow or pain to someone else, which is not the same as "being in distress"?  

 

Is  “distressing” a proper gerund to mean acting / feeling stressed? If so, then it was the best / least bad sentence.  

If distressing does not properly act as a gerund to mean acting/feeling  stressed then it was not.

 

In context, it was part of a group of sentences about handling anxiety and worry.  Not exactly like this, but along these lines: 

“Worrying is not the key. Distressing is not the key. Instead, when feeling anxiety consider the following options: ...” 

 

Not exactly that, but along those lines.  (I think I made it more comprehensible than it was.) Many sentences would have a problem with multiple choice options for what would be better or “leave unchanged” as options. 

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Pen said:

 

 

[Pen]

There was a prior sentence with a gerund, so if “Distressing” can be used to properly mean feeling distress, then it was the best or least bad from POV of maintaining parallel construction of two sentences. 

 

[Matryoshka]

Okay, that's just plain wrong.  Distress as a verb is transitive, not intransitive.  It's not something one does, like worry, or sulk, cry, or pout, it's something one does to someone or something else - or something else does to you  So one cannot 'distress'.  One can 'be distressed', as then there is some other thing causing you the distress, as it's then in the passive voice.

For example:

I worry about being too loud.  Yes.

I distress about being too loud.  NO.  THAT IS NOT RIGHT.

I distress my grandmother when I wear black nail polish.  Yes.  I am distressed by this sorry state of affairs.  Yes.

The dictionary specifically says 'distress' must be used with an object.

Worrying, crying, sulking, pouting - as gerunds of intransitive verbs they all express a mood, something someone is feeling.

Distressing is not a mood, or something one does oneself.  It's something one does to something else, or something else does to you, like putting someone else in a bad mood, or in other contexts, to wood or fabric.  Something can be distressing to you.  You can not yourself be distressing as a state of mind.  Gah.

verb (used with object)

1. to afflict with great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; trouble; worry; bother:It distresses Grandpa when you bring up the war.

2. to subject to pressure, stress, or strain; embarrass or exhaust by strain:to be distressed by excessive work.

[Matryoshka]

I would ETA above but editing seems to result in double posts lately, so,

ETA: My guess is the numbskulls were looking for 'parallelism' if indeed the previous sentence was along the lines of 'Not worrying is key'.  BUT the actual word 'distressing' cannot be used they way they used it, so it's just WRONG.  'be distressed' is awkward and does not have a parallel construction to the previous sentence, but at least not nonsensical bunch of goo.

[Matryoshka]

8 minutes ago, Pen said:

There was a prior sentence with a gerund, so if “Distressing” can be used to properly mean feeling distress, then it was the best or least bad from POV of maintaining parallel construction of two sentences. 

Distressing cannot, in fact, be used to properly mean 'to feel distress.' (see my posts above, with helpful dictionary definition) That's why they are wrong.

[Pen]

9 minutes ago, Matryoshka said:

Okay, that's just plain wrong.  Distress as a verb is transitive, not intransitive.  It's not something one does, like worry, or sulk, cry, or pout, it's something one does to someone or something else - or something else does to you  So one cannot 'distress'.  One can 'be distressed', as then there is some other thing causing you the distress, as it's then in the passive voice.

For example:

I worry about being too loud.  Yes.

I distress about being too loud.  NO.  THAT IS NOT RIGHT.

I distress my grandmother when I wear black nail polish.  Yes.  I am distressed by this sorry state of affairs.  Yes.

The dictionary specifically says 'distress' must be used with an object.

Worrying, crying, sulking, pouting - as gerunds of intransitive verbs they all express a mood, something someone is feeling.

Distressing is not a mood, or something one does oneself.  It's something one does to something else, or something else does to you, like putting someone else in a bad mood, or in other contexts, to wood or fabric.  Something can be distressing to you.  You can not yourself be distressing as a state of mind.  Gah.

verb (used with object)

1. to afflict with great pain, anxiety, or sorrow; trouble; worry; bother:It distresses Grandpa when you bring up the war.

2. to subject to pressure, stress, or strain; embarrass or exhaust by strain:to be distressed by excessive work.

 

Thank you.

He isn’t the type of student to try to fight every point.

I sort of feel like bringing it up with the teacher, but know I should probably stay out of it unless ds requests help, or if they don’t pass him. He is a good writer, even given dyslexia, but the current English program he has is demoralizing. 

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by Pen

[Ausmumof3]

19 minutes ago, Pen said:

I don’t think distressing sounds right as a gerund.  I’ve never heard it used that way.

 

Is  “distressing” a proper gerund to mean acting / feeling stressed? If so, then it was the best / least bad sentence.  

If distressing does not properly act as a gerund to mean acting/feeling  stressed then it was not.

 

In context, it was part of a group of sentences about handling anxiety and worry.  Not exactly like this, but along these lines: 

“Worrying is not the key. Distressing is not the key. Instead, when feeling anxiety consider the following options: ...” 

 

Not exactly that, but along those lines.  (I think I made it more comprehensible than it was.) Many sentences would have a problem with multiple choice options for what would be better or “leave unchanged” as options. 

 

 

 

 

[GoodGrief3]

Editing to say, ugh, being is not a preposition, so I don't know. It's been a few years since I have chanted that list from the Jessie Wise book, lol

Both awful, but I think the preposition at the beginning of the second sentence probably makes it worse. Going back to read replies 🙂

Edited November 6, 2020 by GoodGrief3

[Ausmumof3]

To me distressing is an adjective.  I don’t think it’s even a verb is it?

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/distressing

[Matryoshka]

5 minutes ago, Pen said:

Thank you.

He isn’t the type of student to try to fight every point.

I sort of feel like bringing it up with the teacher, but know I should probably stay out of it unless ds requests help, or if they don’t pass him. He is a good writer, even given dyslexia, but the current English program he has is demoralizing. 

Well, when the English being taught is actually flat-out incorrect, it's even more demoralizing.  😞  There's no gray area.  Distress is a transitive verb, and as such describes an action, not a feeling or a mood.  It's just wrong.  Flat.out.wrong.

[Matryoshka]

5 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

To me distressing is an adjective.  I don’t think it’s even a verb is it?

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/distressing

No present participle is a verb unless it is part of a verb phrase.  (like 'is distressing' or 'was distressing' or 'has been distressing').  Alone in a sentence, a present participle can function as an adjective, or as a noun (in which case it is called a gerund), but it is never a verb.  It's a type of 'verbal', which do retain some 'verbiness', for example gerunds can be described by adverbs even though they are nouns.  Distressing in that sentence is not a verb, but it is a verbal made from an transitive verb, and its meaning is still transitive.  It cannot, and does not, describe a mood but an action.

Edited November 6, 2020 by Matryoshka

[EKS]

Both sentences are terrible, but the second sentence is less terrible (IMO).

Sometimes (like on the SAT/ACT) the test makers are trying to make the passages sound like student writing, which is idiotic, because student writing generally sounds awful.

It's also very possible that the test maker doesn't know how to write.

[kristin0713]

If distressing is NOT the key, is stressing the key?  🤨  Terrible sentence. 

[SKL]

Yeah, I mean, "distressing" is an actual word but it is an adjective.

"The scene around the bombed building was distressing."

[Paige]

Any chance it was a test sentence that isn't graded for points but is used to test sentences for future tests? It's a terrible sentence that doesn't even make sense, IMO. Distressing? What is that? Maybe they meant destressing? Is that even a word either? I hope it was a test sentence that will be tossed. 

[wintermom]

I've seen "distressing" used as a reflexive verb, for example: Stop distressing yourself. 

In the OP, the 'correct' sentence would sound better to me if it was was, "Distressing oneself is not the key." Though this still sounds weird. It would sound better to say, "The key is to not distress oneself." 

In a different context, it could also be used as a verb describing a process or treatment to a physical object: He is distressing the wood to create an aged effect. 

[Pen]

1 hour ago, Paige said:

Any chance it was a test sentence that isn't graded for points but is used to test sentences for future tests? It's a terrible sentence that doesn't even make sense, IMO. Distressing? What is that? Maybe they meant destressing? Is that even a word either? I hope it was a test sentence that will be tossed. 

No: Semester Final exam. Even if test makers intended it as a trial question, it counts for his class. 

[Matryoshka]

11 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I've seen "distressing" used as a reflexive verb, for example: Stop distressing yourself. 

In the OP, the 'correct' sentence would sound better to me if it was was, "Distressing oneself is not the key." Though this still sounds weird. It would sound better to say, "The key is to not distress oneself." 

In a different context, it could also be used as a verb describing a process or treatment to a physical object: He is distressing the wood to create an aged effect. 

Exactly.  It's something that is done to someone or something, even if that someone is yourself, lol.  

Really, it's just not the correct word for the sentence.  Destressing (or de-stressing), which someone else suggested, while also awkward, would at least make sense.  So does the test maker not understand grammar, or are they just bad spellers? 🙄

[Pen]

14 minutes ago, wintermom said:

I've seen "distressing" used as a reflexive verb, for example: Stop distressing yourself. 

In the OP, the 'correct' sentence would sound better to me if it was was, "Distressing oneself is not the key." Though this still sounds weird. It would sound better to say, "The key is to not distress oneself." 

In a different context, it could also be used as a verb describing a process or treatment to a physical object: He is distressing the wood to create an aged effect. 

 

“Distressing oneself” sounds much better to me!  Alas it  was not an option, nor what “they” consider correct.

 

[Paige]

Have you contacted the instructor and told her that everyone thinks she's wrong? 😁

[Pen]

1 minute ago, Paige said:

Have you contacted the instructor and told her that everyone thinks she's wrong? 😁

 

No.  😉.   I will wait and see what happens and what son wants to do.   My guess is he will want to do nothing about it.   

[Terabith]

It's just wrong.  

[Terabith]

Out of curiosity, is this K12?  

It just seems so similar to the kinds of errors we're seeing in both English and geometry with them.  

[EKS]

59 minutes ago, Pen said:

No: Semester Final exam. Even if test makers intended it as a trial question, it counts for his class.

I'd complain.  They need that sort of feedback. 

I wrote detailed emails about every idiotic multiple choice question I encountered in my master's program.  And every single time I got full credit restored.