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Do not use too much force. (it → en) Topic is solved

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Do not use too much force. (it → en)

Post by sentence bot 🤖 »

Do not use too much force.

it: Non usare troppa forza.

Duolingo forum topic: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/3763266

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Sofia222677

Re: Do not use too much force. (it → en)

Post by Sofia222677 »

The English of this sentence sounds iffy to me. This is clearly a literal translation from Italian, and probably "strength" would sound more natural.

Could a native English speaker weigh in on this?

Last edited by Sofia222677 on Wed May 04, 2022 11:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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David755502
Great Britain

Re: Do not use too much force. (it → en)

Post by David755502 »

For this sentence, I would use the word “force”.

Often “strength” and “force” are synonyms, but not here. I have had to think carefully to try and work out why not!

I think the difference here is that “force” is what is being applied and “strength” is what is used to apply it.

I will need to use a lot of force to open that door.
I will need a lot of strength to open that door.

There are many cases though where either word is fine.

I was amazed by the force of the wind.
I was amazed by the strength of the wind.

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Sofia222677

Re: Do not use too much force. (it → en)

Post by Sofia222677 »

Thanks for explaining all those nuances I was not aware of!

What about "might"?
I've learnt from a comment by a native English speaker on another sentence discussion that a common phrase is "I tried with all my might".

:it: N - :gb: B2 (working towards C1) - Learning :de: - Dabbling in :cn:, :ru:

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David755502
Great Britain

Re: Do not use too much force. (it → en)

Post by David755502 »

This also required some thought!

Yes, you can say for example;

I held on with all my might.
A show of military might.

“all my might” is certainly quite common. Otherwise I think the word is more often used to describe the strength and power of a nation or natural force. You could for example talk of “a mighty avalanche” or “a mighty army”.

Tricky questions! Maybe a proper linguist will see this and correct me!

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gmads
Mexico

Re: Do not use too much force. (it → en)

Post by gmads »

Force is the interaction that causes an object of mass to change its velocity (Force = Mass x Acceleration).

Work is a function of the distance an object moves, multiplied by force (Work = Force x Distance x Cos Ɵ) . Basically, it’s how much energy is effectively being used to move something.

Power is the rate of energy consumed in a unit of time (Power = Work/ time). Work = Force x Distance.

Strength is the weird term out. Strength doesn’t mean anything! In physics, strength is an ambiguous term that could refer to any number of factors, from tensile strength to shear strength.

The "Physical Strength" of a person could be defined as the amount of "force" that a person can generate or produce against an external resistance: the stronger a person is the more force that person can generate or exert.


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