Is "when" used properly here?

Forums: English, Esl, Grammar, English As A Second Language
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Should it be "that"?

Context:

Sexual cannibalism is when a female cannibalizes her mate prior to, during, or after copulation.[1] It is a phenomenon characterized primarily by members of arachnid orders as well as several insect orders.[2] The adaptive foraging hypothesis,[3] aggressive spillover hypothesis[4] and mistaken identity hypothesis[5] are several hypotheses that have been proposed to explain how sexual cannibalism evolved. This behavior is believed to have evolved as a manifestation of sexual conflict, occurring when the reproductive interests of males and females differ.[6] In many species that exhibit sexual cannibalism, the female consumes the male upon detection. Females of cannibalistic species are generally hostile and unwilling to mate; thus many males of these species have developed adaptive behaviors to counteract female aggression.[7][8]
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_cannibalism

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Type: Question • Score: 3 • Views: 581 • Replies: 10

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View best answer, chosen by oristarA

@oristarA,

No Ori, "when" is strongly collo

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@oristarA,

Yes, "when" is used properly there.

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@oristarA,

Quote:

No Ori, "when" is strongly collo

Yes, No, Ori, I was asserting "when" okay

The "yes-n0" thing does get misused doesn't it
...My apologies....

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I agree with Dale that using "when" in such a situation is informal and colloquial, and not really appropriate for anything scholarly or purporting to be so. It is often seen in younger children's essays, e.g. murder is when a person kills another person; a surprise is when something happens that a person was not expecting, death is when you die, etc.

I would rewrite that portion thus: "Sexual cannibalism is a phenomenon in which a female cannibalizes her mate prior to, during, or after copulation"

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@Tes yeux noirs,

OR more simply "Sexual cannibalism occurs when a female..."

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Thank you all.

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@Tes yeux noirs,

Thanks Tes; of course the q was,

Quote:

Should it be "that"?

so if a yes-no answer is required, I'd vote for the former, maybe even in a scholarly treatise

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@farmerman,

Quote:

OR more simply "Sexual cannibalism occurs when a female..."

Much better.

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The problem is not "when", but "is".

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@Tes yeux noirs,

thats the way I read it. In scientific literature there is more of a history and style requirement of using a passive verb form rather than active. So anyway we can tart it up going passive, I dont recall any admonitions regarding using colloquial speak.

Sometimes, at least in my field, guys try to slip in little jokes or puns or litotes, (just to be wild asses)

I once did a line about how,
"the severe estuary currents kept the sediments at bay"

Oh Im a million laughs at parties.

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Is "when" used properly here?

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