coupled with

English translation: No

13:04 Apr 26, 2014

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Linguistics / correct English usage

English term or phrase: coupled with

My question is really about the correct usage of "coupled with".

I do understand "coupled with" is used when two objects/parts are joined/fastened/bolted together (like and engine to transmission in motor vehicles), or when two (often unwelcome) phenomena occur side by side/at the same time (usually to make things worse etc...)

But is it correct to say "problems coupled with..." in the sense of "the problems of...."
as inthe sentence below:

"Problems coupled with trafficking in human beings in terms of organized crime are no longer ..."

Any comments are welcome.

petrolhead KudoZ activity Questions: 44 (none open) Answers: 3090 Poland
Local time: 06:28

Selected answer:No

Explanation:
This would be an unnatural usage at best. "Associated with" is what you're looking for.

Selected response from:

Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 12:28

Grading comment

Thank you very much indeed!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +9

associated with/linked to

Mark Nathan

4 +3

Lincoln Hui

4 +1

It depends

B D Finch

I don't like it, eprsonally

Tony M

Discussion entries: 2

Answers

18 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +9

associated with/linked to

Explanation:
In the example you give I would be more likely to say "associated with" or "linked to" but I do not think it is actually wrong to say "coupled with".

In my experience "coupled with" is often used when the sum is greater than the parts (e.g. "his grasp of statistics coupled with his exceptional memory made him an excellent poker player").

Mark Nathan
France
Local time: 06:28
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 40

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you for your valuable input. While I do agree with your overall verdict but still, somehow, I am just uncomfortable with your reservation that "coupled with" in this context is actually not wrong ;-)

Asker: I do agree absolutely that 'associated with/linked to' should be used in this context. And I do hope that all those colleagues who posted their 'agrees' agree with that, and not necessarily with the view that it is not incorrect to use 'coupled with'.

44 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

Explanation:
This would be an unnatural usage at best. "Associated with" is what you're looking for.

Lincoln Hui
Hong Kong
Local time: 12:28
Native speaker of:

Chinese,

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Thank you very much indeed!

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you. This has been my feeling all along.

1 hr confidence:

I don't like it, eprsonally

Explanation:
I can't give you a reason or explanation, but it is my 'feeling' that it just sounds wrong; 'coupled with' has the sense of 'in conjunction with': "The strong wind coupled with the lashing rain made their walk home a miserable one" — this is a quite different sense from 'connected with / associated with', which means 'relating to': "The car breakdown was connected with the fule line problems the week before"

There really are two quite distinct notions between these groups of expressions. Maybe a test would be to re-write the sentence with a verb in the middle: "His illness was connected with years of heavy smoking" — in this construction, 'coupled with' clearly wouldn't work.

Tony M
France
Local time: 06:28
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 156

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you for your input.

2 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

It depends

Explanation:
At first glance, I agreed with Tony's comment about finding it a poor choice of vocabulary. However, on second thoughts, you really haven't given adequate context for it to be clear whether or not this is so. The use of "coupled with" rather than e.g. "associated with" might be deliberate in order to emphasise that most people would make that association automatically or instinctively. The only way to know whether that is the case is to see a longer extract from your text, which would put this in context and also give one a chance to assess the quality of writing.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2014-04-26 17:27:48 GMT)
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Now you have given a little context, "coupled with" is clearly wrong. The sentence could also do with some punctuation.

B D Finch
France
Local time: 06:28
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 40

Notes to answerer

Asker: Thank you for your input.

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