[Vocabulary] Additional (for useful things or for useless or even harmful?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Khosro

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2011
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
Iran
is it okay to say:
"Additional salt might spoil your meal."? (for example in a recipe)

are additional things also useless or harmful in some cases? or we use some other word instead of "additional"?
 
is it okay to say:
"Additional salt might spoil your meal."? (for example in a recipe)

are additional things also useless or harmful in some cases? or we use some other word instead of "additional"?

I'd rather go with the phrase excessive salt, which means too much salt, but I'm not a native, so you'd better look out for others' suggestions.
 
is it okay to say:
"Additional salt might spoil your meal."? (for example in a recipe)

are additional things also useless or harmful in some cases? or we use some other word instead of "additional"?

Thank you engee30. "too much salt" will do and I use it too. Perhaps that was not a good example. My question is chiefly about "additional" itself, and not that particular sentence.

Another example:
My friend and I are going to the mountains tomorrow. But I have no boots. I ask him:"Do you have any additional boots?".

I mean another pair of boots which he does not need himself.

I want to know if additional has any meaning other than "extra" or ... .
 
Last edited:
Thank you engee30. "too much salt" will do and I use it too. Perhaps that was not a good example. My question is chiefly about "additional" itself, and not that particular sentence.

Another example:
My friend and I are going to the mountains tom[STRIKE]m[/STRIKE]orrow. But I have no boots. I ask him: "Do you have any spare boots?".

I mean another pair of boots which he does not need himself.

In such a case, I'd rather say spare instead of additional. I'm afraid it's not easy for me to give you an explanation why I prefer one to the other.
 
In such a case, I'd rather say spare instead of additional. I'm afraid it's not easy for me to give you an explanation why I prefer one to the other.

Thank you. I checked "spare" in the dictionary and that's suitable for my purpose. I guess with "too much" and "spare" I can easily say sentences with an implicit concept of "additional" within them.

"Spare" has 2-3 different meanings as an adjective which are all useful.

No need for more explaination; It is obvious to me. I just needed the word "spare". But you can explain it here in the thread if you like.
 
No need for more explaination. It is obvious to me. I just needed the word "spare". But you can explain it here in the thread if you like.

I'd rather not, Khosro - I don't feel as confident in given explanations as I used to. :-( Besides, the words in question overlap so much in many contexts that it'd be extremely hard for me to help you differentiate one from another.
 
My friend and I are going to the mountains tomorrow. But I have no boots. I ask him:"Do you have any additional boots?".

I mean another pair of boots which he does not need himself.
.
engee30: In such a case, I'd rather say spare instead of additional.

engee is right.

The reason is that 'spare' conveys the idea of 'not needed', which is precisely what you wanted to say.
 
I wouldn't use additional in a recipe- additional would be adding salt at the table or outside the cooking for me.
 
I wouldn't use additional in a recipe- additional would be adding salt at the table or outside the cooking for me.

Yes, outside the cooking, thank you. But what I really mean is "more than the allowed amount". Suppose it is not about salt but Ampyselin: "Additional doses of ampyselin could be fatal".
 
Any idea for my previous post? Thank you.
 
Any further ampyselin dose could be fatal.
An ampyselin overdose could be fatal.
 
I'd say 'Do not exceed the recommended dosage' or 'Taking more than the recommended dosage of Ampyselin can be fatal'. I wouldn't use additional there either.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ask a Teacher

If you have a question about the English language and would like to ask one of our many English teachers and language experts, please click the button below to let us know:

(Requires Registration)
Back
Top