"very addicting" vs "very addictive"

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-- "very addicting" vs "very addictive"

Posted by moncster on Nov-23-2003 07:00:

"very addicting" vs "very addictive"

Which is more (gramatically) correct?

Posted by Mebot on Nov-23-2003 07:12:

depends

Posted by Orbax on Nov-23-2003 07:15:

addictive is the property, addicting is the action

Posted by MrSquirrel on Nov-23-2003 07:17:

quote:
Originally posted by Orbax
addictive is the property, addicting is the action

Addictive is an adjective.

Addicting is an adverb.

In their usual contexts of course.

MrS

Posted by moncster on Nov-23-2003 07:54:

Ok so how should this sentence go?
"That game is very addicting" or "That game is very addictive"?
The latter sounds very awkward to me.

Posted by TwoPlow on Nov-23-2003 08:05:

Hurrah for grammarwhoring.

I think it would be "That game is very addictive"

But yeah, Mr. Squirrel is correct.

Posted by allstar on Nov-23-2003 11:57:

very addictive

Posted by SuperFarStucker on Nov-23-2003 16:37:

Either way is a perfectly valid use of said words. Imagine that...

Posted by DJ-Fuq on Nov-23-2003 16:42:

quote:
Originally posted by SuperFarStucker
Either way is a perfectly valid use of said words. Imagine that...

Well, sorta. I think u should use addicting to describe how easy something is to get addicted to, and addictive to describe how bad the withdrawls are; how hard it is to stop.

Posted by Omegasox on Nov-23-2003 18:04:

Addicting sounds retarded for some reason. I always prefer addictive when I can get away with it.

Posted by whiskers on Nov-23-2003 18:29:

quote:
Originally posted by Omegasox
Addicting sounds retarded for some reason. I always prefer addictive when I can get away with it.

true.

"the game is addictive" is the adjective, the description of the appearance of the game.

"the game is addicting" is the adverb that describes the game's EFFECT on you

Posted by loca on Nov-23-2003 19:39:

very addictive is the correct one

Posted by astroboy on Nov-23-2003 23:32:

Addictive is the correct adjective (ie. a word describing a property of the game) "the game is addictive"

An adverb is something like "well" "quickly" or "skillfully" - you can tack it onto a verb to describe the verb, ie. how the action is being done. (eg. "He played the game *insert adverb here*")

Clearly "addicting" just like "running" or "fucking" or "[anything]ing" is the present tense of the verb "to addict". "To addict" is the verb, "addicting" is the participle. The only possible legitimate use I could see for the word is in the context "he is addicting himself to heroin" - which would be awkward as we would commonly say "he is becoming addicted to heroin". And I think it is incorrect anyway because the verb is reflexive... So it's quite likely that "addicting" is a non-word.

Posted by DigiNut on Nov-23-2003 23:36:

The final word

Addict is a transitive verb and thus requires a direct object.

Take out the "very" - to say "This game is addicting" makes no sense. Addicting what? The correct use would be "This game is addicting me." Now try writing, "this game is very addicting me." That makes no sense.

Addictive is the word you're looking for.

Posted by Fundamental on Nov-23-2003 23:39:

Re: The final word

quote:
Originally posted by DigiNut
Addict is a transitive verb and thus requires a direct object.

Take out the "very" - to say "This game is addicting" makes no sense. Addicting what? The correct use would be "This game is addicting me." Now try writing, "this game is very addicting me." That makes no sense.

Addictive is the word you're looking for.

*ding ding ding*

Posted by DJ-Fuq on Nov-23-2003 23:57:

quote:
Originally posted by astroboy

The only possible legitimate use I could see for the word is in the context "he is addicting herself to heroin"

Doesnt sound legitimate to me

Posted by astroboy on Nov-24-2003 05:29:

quote:
Originally posted by DJ-Fuq
Doesnt sound legitimate to me

Indeed... I foolishly thought it was a reflexive verb but, as Diginut said, it is in fact a transitive verb... so his example is correct.