Using nurse as a verb

[alpacinou]

Hello

I'm writing a story. Is it okay to use "nurse" as a verb instead of drink? I mean is it too unnatural?

What do you think about this?

Julia was busy nursing her beer while Jen crawled under the table to grab her purse.

 

[GoesStation]

Nursing a beer and being busy have somewhat contradictory implications. That doesn't mean you can't use them together, but you should be aware that your readers will feel like the sentence changed direction.

Another point to be aware of, though it doesn't apply here, is that in American English nurse can mean "breast feed a baby". An English immigrant friend was confused by this; she used the verb the other way around, saying her daughter, who was clamped onto her breast at the time, was nursing her.

 

[alpacinou]

You can use 'nurse', but not as an alternative to 'drink'.

What do you mean? Doesn't it mean to slowly drink something?

 

[alpacinou]

https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/nurse_2

She stood nursing a cup of tea.

 

[alpacinou]

Nursing a beer and being busy have somewhat contradictory implications. That doesn't mean you can't use them together, but you should be aware that your readers will feel like the sentence changed direction.

Another point to be aware of, though it doesn't apply here, is that in American English nurse can mean "breast feed a baby". An English immigrant friend was confused by this; she used the verb the other way around, saying her daughter, who was clamped onto her breast at the time, was nursing her.

Why contradictory? She was busy slowly drinking the beer. And she was not thinking about her purse.

 

[emsr2d2]

It refers to the entire time between getting the drink and finishing it, not just the parts where you drink it.

 

[GoesStation]

Why contradictory? She was busy slowly drinking the beer. And she was not thinking about her purse.

It's odd to think of someone who's doing something slowly as being busy because we usually think of busy people rushing around trying to get things done in a hurry.

 

[alpacinou]

What if I remove busy? What do you think about this?

As Julia was nursing her beer, Jen crawled under the table to grab her purse.

Generally can I use it in past continuous tense and have it interrupted by another action?

 

[alpacinou]

So, is this correct and natural?

As Julia was nursing her beer, Jen crawled under the table to grab her purse.

 

[GoesStation]

So, is this correct and natural?

As Julia was nursing her beer, Jen crawled under the table to grab her purse.

Yes.

 

[alpacinou]

Okay, what about this?

He was massaging her neck while she was nursing her beer.

Is it natural?

 

[Skrej]

Julia was busy nursing her beer while Jen crawled under the table to grab her purse.

This works, but likely not in the way you're thinking.

The contrast between 'busy' and 'nursing' paints an ironic picture that either suggests sarcasm, or suggests that Julia is purposely trying to avoid engaging with someone, probably Jen since Jen is mentioned in the same sentence. It makes Julia sound a bit lazy or rude, possibly deliberately so.

Perhaps Julia is mad at Jen, doesn't like Jen in general, is in a bad mood, or has some other reason to studiously ignore Jen.

 

[alpacinou]

This works, but likely not in the way you're thinking.

The contrast between 'busy' and 'nursing' paints an ironic picture that either suggests sarcasm, or suggests that Julia is purposely trying to avoid engaging with someone, probably Jen since Jen is mentioned in the same sentence. It makes Julia sound a bit lazy or rude, possibly deliberately so.

Perhaps Julia is mad at Jen, doesn't like Jen in general, is in a bad mood, or has some other reason to studiously ignore Jen.

What about the sentence in post #14? Is it okay? Does it mean she is mad at him or something like that?

 

[GoesStation]

Okay, what about this?

He was massaging her neck while she was nursing her beer. This is more likely;

Is it natural?

The continuous aspect is a bit odd, though it could work in the right context. The past simple is more likely in both verbs.

 

[alpacinou]

So, is this correct and natural?

He massaged her neck as she nursed her beer.

 

[probus]

Correct and natural, yes.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I like the original phrasing. I like one of them busily nursing a beer, because it suggests real focus on the task at hand. Properly nursing a beer is a skill and an artform. Doing it right is almost a zenlike devotion.

And I love the lack of focus of the woman scrambling around under the table to retrieve her bag. It sounds like there's been a bit too much zenlike devotion to nursing beers!

I'd leave it exactly as you originally wrote it.

 

[Rover_KE]

What about the sentence in post #14? Is it okay? Does it mean she is mad at him or something like that?

Who is 'him'? I thought Jen was a woman (Jennifer).

I can't decide whose purse Jen was grabbing—Julia's or her own.

 

[Tarheel]

Yeah, it kind of seems like somebody is trying to steal somebody's purse.