Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: worth, worthwhile, worthy

principali differenze di uso, per parole che apparentemente sono identiche?
sapete, guardavo l'altro giorno il video di "Pop goes my heart!" e a 
twist of fate makes life worthwhile...allora mi sono chiesto: perché, 
oltre che per la metrica, dice worthwhile? io forse avrei detto "it 
makes life worthy"...ma in realtà non lo so bene. di sicuro non avrei 
usato worthwhile perche' non sono abituato ad usarlo.
che ne dite? possiamo esemplificare l'uso?
it's worth it = ne vale la pena
come it's worth every penny = vale proprio (quello che costa)
quindi worth non regge "of"
worthy of you = degno di te
quindi worthy regge "of"
worthwhile, dal testo della canzone, sembrerebbe essere il /sostantivo/ 
"degno", e non l'aggettivo. piu' o meno. e cmq non regge l'of.
sul web ho trovato diversi usi di worthwhile...qualcuno mi puo' dare una 
regola senza che io provi ad estrapolarla?
ciao
-- 
 >Giovanni


"Worthy" can only be used referring to people.
Only a person can be worthy of another person's xxxxxxx.
Italian "degno"?
"Worth" is like both the Italian "valore" and "valere", depending on the
use.
�632 worth
1 worth a lot, etc
Worth can be followed by an expression describing the value of something.
That piano must be worth a lot.
I don't think their pizzas are worth the money.
Shall I talk to Rob?~ It's not worth the trouble.
In questions about value, either what or how much can be used.
What / How much is that painting worth?
2 a million dollars' worth of ...
A possessive can be used before worth in expressions with numbers.
They've ordered a million dollars' worth of computer software.
3 It's worth talking to Joe; Joe's worth talking to
To talk about the value of an activity, we can use an -ing form with worth.
The -ing clause cannot be the subject; we often use preparatory it.
It's worth talking to Joe. (NOT Talking to Joe is worth.)
It isn't worth repairing the car.
Is it worth visiting Leicester?
We can also use a structure in which the object of the -ing form (Joe, the
car,
Leicester) is made the subject of the sentence.
Joe's worth talking to.
The car isn't worth repairing. (NOT The car isn't worth repairing it. OR
The car isn't worth to be repaired.)
Is Leicester worth visiting?
For more about structures in which the object of a verb is the subject of
the sentence (e.g. She's
easy to amuse], see 284.4.
4 It's worth it
We often use It's (not) worth it to say whether something is worth doing.
If you pay a bit more you get a room to yourself. I think it's worth it.
Shall we go and see the castle? ~ No, it's not worth it.
5 worthwhile
Worthwhile (or worth while) is sometimes used instead of worth, particularly
to express the idea 'worth spending time'.
Is it worthwhile visiting Leicester?
Infinitives are also possible after worthwhile.
We thought it might be worthwhile to compare the two years' accounts.
Note also the structure worth somebody's while.
Would you like to do some gardening for me? I'll make it worth your while.
(= ... I'll pay you enough.)
6 well worth
Worth can be modified by well.
Leicester's well worth visiting. (NOT ... very worth ... )�
(Swan, "Practical English Usage" )
Joe from Massachusetts

 "Worthy" can only be used referring to people.
You've never heard of or referred to "a worthy cause"?
-- 
Joe/Joey da New York

"Joey Dee" <joe...@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:0001HW.C62795E6...@news.motzarella.org...

Yes, but it still strikes me as a little anthropomorphic.
Joe from Massachusetts

On Thu, 7 May 2009 16:47:00 -0400, Joseph Curtin wrote
(in article <oNHMl.25249$BZ3....@newsfe12.iad>):

Maybe, Joe, but I think it's unfair to say that it can only be used when 
referring to people, since it has been in widespread use in many other 
contexts for a long time.
