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Let us get rid of forcefully taking stuff...


In the above sentence, is the position of the Adverb 'forcefully' right? I feel it a bit unnatural and also I am unable to make mind where exactly in the sentence it should be placed.

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    I am not sure exactly what you mean here. Do you mean "Let us stop forcefully taking stuff" ? "to get rid of" is generally followed by a noun phrase, so your wording sounds strange to me - I would reword that first part of the sentence. But "forcefully taking" itself is grammatical, yes.
    – Mixolydian
    Mar 4, 2019 at 4:05
  • Let me explain what I mean to ask. A is asking B why he doesn’t take care of his town. B is complaining that there are many issues he faces because of which he’s unable to concentrate on the part he should pay in the care of the town. For instance there are crimes. So he says, ‘Let us get rid of forcefully taking stuff, then we will think about the progression of our town.' He wants to say that some powerful people come and force him to give him stuff, the stuff he sell such as. They pay no money. Mar 4, 2019 at 4:22
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    That sounds like what I thought you were getting at. I stand by what I said; "get rid of" would sound better if replaced with "stop", as @user45266 agrees in their answer below.
    – Mixolydian
    Mar 4, 2019 at 4:40
  • I'm afraid I'm confused. If I am not wrong, I think when we use 'Let us+ verb[1st form]' that means we are part of that action too, isn't it? Such as if I say, 'Let us play.' the action of playing will be done by 'me' too. If this is correct, then how'd I say "Let us stop taking stuff" since I don't take the stuff, but rather stuff is taken from me? Mar 4, 2019 at 4:51
  • LET ME CORRECT MY ARGUMENT: we use 'Let's+stop+ verb[+ing]' that means we are part of that action too, isn't it? Such as if I say, 'Let's stop playing.' the action of playing is being done by us and we won't do it anymore. If this is correct, then how'd I say "Let us stop taking stuff" since I don't take the stuff, but rather stuff is taken from me? Mar 4, 2019 at 5:09

1 Answer 1

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The entire sentence has an air of awkwardness. Better would be:

Let's stop forcefully taking stuff...

or

Let's stop taking stuff by force...

(to take by force is an idiomatic expression)

"To take something forcefully" is okay, as is "to forcefully take something". "To take forcefully something" is wrong. Adverbs generally can be either in front of or behind a verb, but some verbs only work with a specific position. For example, "Timothy auspiciously died" is so awkward that it's better to write "auspiciously" as an appositive.

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  • But how would he who's being robbed use the verb 'take'? He isn't taking but rather someone else is taking stuff from him. He wants himself to be protected from such snatching. If he says, 'Let's stop taking...' this shows he does the action of 'snatching' too, while he doesn't. He indeed is making a complaint that someone comes and takes the stuff away, forcefully. Mar 4, 2019 at 4:43
  • You are using too many ambiguous pronouns for me to understand what you mean. If someone else is asking someone to stop taking stuff from him, "let's stop ..." doesn't differ at all in the placement of the adverb.
    – user45266
    Mar 4, 2019 at 5:07
  • Let me simplify my question. There's a man A. A says, 'I am unable to contribute to the town development because I am disturbed with problems, such as some crimes. Some people come and forcefully take stuff from my shop. They don't pay. I am suffering from a huge loss.' Then A places an assertion that: Let me get rid of forcefully taking the stuff, then I will contribute to the development of the town. [A wants to say that after no one deprives him from his money, he will have enough money for the town development contribution.] Should A say: Let me get rid of forcefully taking money? Mar 4, 2019 at 5:18
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    "Get rid of" is used incorrectly there, because "forcefully taking my stuff" cannot be converted to a noun phrase, and even if it could, it's just an awkward phrase to use this way. Try "I'll contribute to the development effort once I successfully prevent my own stuff from being stolen". Or, "...once I secure my storefront".
    – user45266
    Mar 4, 2019 at 5:24
  • [ "I'll contribute to the development effort once I successfully prevent my own stuff from being stolen".] was the construction I had in my mind but was a little confused. This seems to be a much better choice, not doubt. Mar 4, 2019 at 5:26

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