She is the best surgeon in the country

[alpacinou]

Are these correct and natural?

4. She is the best surgeon in the country. Look at her hands. They are like magic wands.

5. She is the best programmer at the company. She waves the magic wand and writes excellent programs.

 

[Bassim]

I would rewrite your sentences in this way.

4. She is the best surgeon in the country--her hands are magic wands.
5. She is the best programmer at the company and writes excellent programs

I think "look at her hands" is redundant. I added em dash to sett off a statement.
In the second sentence, I believe that "magic wand" doesn't work.

But I am a non-native speaker, and you will probably get better answers from some of the teachers on this forum.

 

[alpacinou]

Nobody had commented on the first three sentences. Can I have them back please?

 

[emsr2d2]

Nobody had commented on the first three sentences. Can I have them back please?

They haven't vanished. I just separated the two posts in that thread into two separate threads. Both needed more appropriate titles. The first three sentences are HERE with an appropriate title.
"Are these correct and natural?" isn't an appropriate title for any thread on the forum. Titles should include some/all of the words/phrases/sentences you are asking us about.

 

[Tdol]

Is she the best surgeon in all areas of surgery? Liver transplants and brain surgery may require different skills. (Not a surgeon)

 

[emsr2d2]

I would rewrite your sentences in this way:

4. She is the best surgeon in the country -- her hands are magic wands.
5. She is the best programmer at the company and writes excellent programs.

I think "look at her hands" is redundant. I added an em dash to [STRIKE]sett[/STRIKE] set off a statement.
In the second sentence, I believe that "magic wand" doesn't work. Why? If you're going to make statements like that, back them up.

[STRIKE]But[/STRIKE] I am a non-native speaker, and you will probably get better answers from some of the teachers on this forum.

emsr2d2

 

[Bassim]

emsr2d2,

Thank you for correcting my mistakes.

I think that "magic wand" sounds stilted in the above sentence. It is a cliché and doesn't tell us anything specific about her skills as a programmer, and therefore it is redundant. It is enough to say that she "writes excellent programs".

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Are these correct and natural?

4. She is the best surgeon in the country. Look at her hands. They are like magic wands.

5. She is the best programmer at the company. She waves the magic wand and writes excellent programs.

The wand image is a stretch. It would work better where there really is something hand-held, like a conductor's baton or a TV remote or a chef's spoon.

More likely are phrases like:

- she works magic
- she has a magic touch
- she has the touch