Todays' Word: TAXING
Meaning: Needing a great amount of mental or
physical effort.
Pronunciation: Taxing: /‘tæksIŋ/
Part of speech: adjective
Etymology: Its origin is traceable to the morphological change in the verb form of 'tax' which, among other meanings, means to demand a great amount of mental or physical effort.
Usages: 1) He was given the exceedingly taxing duty of panting all the rooms. 2) My job role is more taxing.
Wrong usage: My job role is very tasking. It should have been ‘my job role is very taxing
Pronunciation: Taxing: /‘tæksIŋ/
Part of speech: adjective
Etymology: Its origin is traceable to the morphological change in the verb form of 'tax' which, among other meanings, means to demand a great amount of mental or physical effort.
Usages: 1) He was given the exceedingly taxing duty of panting all the rooms. 2) My job role is more taxing.
Wrong usage: My job role is very tasking. It should have been ‘my job role is very taxing
Synonyms: demanding, hectic, exacting,
strenuous, onerous, tiring, exhausting.
Antonyms: undemanding, light.
Derived forms: taxingly (adverb).
General Note: 'Taxing' is not a gerund form of the verb 'tax'. It is rather an adjective and it is given a separate entry in the dictionary.
However, it is very common these days to hear people saying 'tasking' instead of 'taxing'.
Antonyms: undemanding, light.
Derived forms: taxingly (adverb).
General Note: 'Taxing' is not a gerund form of the verb 'tax'. It is rather an adjective and it is given a separate entry in the dictionary.
However, it is very common these days to hear people saying 'tasking' instead of 'taxing'.
To
task someone is to assign him or her
a work. It is usually used in the passive form. For example: She is
tasked with the responsibility of cleaning the compound every morning.
Please
note that there is no adjective like ‘TASKING’
This is a big surprise. had to check the internet to be sure
ReplyDeleteI once had my lecturer says " You need to task yourself to pass my subject" Oya now, they said we are half baked graduate but never know na dem they teach us nonsense.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, remember this is grammar zone, not pidgin class.
ReplyDeleteWelldon! This is real common mistake/error. My task complexity is really TAXING, wow.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: You were not taught nonsense. Your lecturer was very correct. As specified above, to task yourself is to assign yourself a task or a responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThe word TASK is a verb and must be used as such. However, TAXING is an adjective.
Furthermore, saying TASKING could be correct in some instances. For examples:
1)Our lecturer is only interested in tasking our brain.
2) You seem to be tasking me with too many responsibilities.
In the first example above, TASKING is used to mean giving work to. While in the second example it means to assign (i.e. You seem to be assigning me with too many responsibilities). To the best of my knowledge, TASKING connotes the sense that someone must assign you a task while TAXING connotes that a duty or an assignment demands that you expend a great amount of mental or physical effort.
@Joshua BA(Eng) Ife:You are taking us back to GNS class! :owever, thank you for your clarification, it nakes the meaning and usage of TAXING clearer than clearly. Can you please be one of our moderators? It will be appreciated.
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: please note than the language of communication on this Zone is English.
@Wabjay: Welldone!
Thank you all.
Can we say, taxing is synonymous to 'Vigorous' ?.
ReplyDeleteSee the examples below:
it is unlikely that you'll be asked to do anything too taxing(vigorous).
Taxing(vigorious) exercise can increase the risk of heart attacks.
You are right, well-done!
ReplyDeleteI thank you for this discovery, this Zone will definitely become my daily companion in order to speak comtemporary English.
ReplyDeleteWow. I'm happy I learnt this. I never knew
ReplyDelete