Hi English native speaker, I'm looking for a profound linguistic assessment and hope somebody can help me.'

Is the following sentence - about a FICTIONAL "sale" offer (meaning it doesn't need to make REAL sense) - properly formulated and clear in its meaning?

"Bring a bike - get a car!"

The sentence is supposed to express that customers can come to the shop, hand in a bicycle and in return they get a car back (that they can drive away with). Is the above sentence OK or should something be changed? Thank you very much for your comments!

 

I think it makes sense, although I personally would change the verbs to make it clearer as to the intention:

Ride in on a bike; drive out in a car. 

Sounds ok, but you could also use some phrasal verbs e.g. Drop off a bike, pick up a car or the ride in drive out option above.

Edited September 7, 20187 yr by Val-E

Concur with the above.  Technically, it works, but could be clarified with the previous suggestions.

Hi Frank,

I think your phrase is fine as is.  However, be aware that under strict grammar rules you should use a semicolon, not a hyphen or dash, to separate the two parts.  It depends on how accurate you want to be though, and the importance of the overall look and feel of the phrase in its context.  Also, depending on the context and any other signage/information available to the viewer, a simple “Ride in; drive out” might suffice.  Variations on a theme could include: “Pedal in to drive away”, “Cycle in to drive away”, “Pedal up; drive away”, “Swap your two wheels for four!”, “ReCYCLE your bike into a car!”, etc.

Anyway, good luck with whatever you go with.

Best wishes,

Nick

This isn’t technically a sentence and I would not use a semicolon in this context. The subject is only implied as “you” and without a clear explicit subject it doesn’t make sense to connect the clauses together. I will say this with the caveat that I am horrible with grammar.


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Don’t fear the semicolon.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon


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27 minutes ago, BrickLegacy said:

Don’t fear the semicolon.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon


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I love semicolons; I dislike passive voice. 

"Bring a bike -- get a car" is an apt example of passive construction. 

I love semicolons; I dislike passive voice. 
"Bring a bike -- get a car" is an apt example of passive construction. 

And we all know: using too many passive constructions makes you a passivist.

Welcome to the pedantic society!

3 hours ago, CrabslayerT said:

Welcome to the pedantic society!