High-tech

It really gets to me when people describe Hollywood movies as having "high-technology." Obviously, this comes from the expression, "hi-tech," which is an adjective describing the use of new technology or the latest advancements in technology. For example, you may describe your cellular phone as "high-tech," meaning your phone uses new technology such as a TV connection, maybe.

Now, the expression "high-tech" is an adjective. It is not a noun. So, the sentence, "The movie I Am Legend is good because it possess high technology," is incorrect. Here, the expression is used as a noun (a name for the kind of technology used). There is no such noun. Also, the word "high" is not an adjective for "technology." "High-tech" is also not a shortcut for "high technology."

I understand where the mistake is coming from. "High-tech" does sound like a shortened version of a longer expression. However, this is not the case. Instead of using "high" to describe the technology used in movies or gadgets, use other adjectives such as "advanced," "cutting-edge," or even "sophisticated."

Next time you want to describe a movie with amazing special effects, say "The movie was fantastic! It used cutting-edge technology for the effects. They looked like they were created by sophisticated computers which did not exist before."

Before I end this post, Manny left a question for me regarding my previous post on the word "variety." Yes, Manny, it is correct to say "wide variety." This needs the article a, though: "There is a wide variety of options to choose from."

Let me also thank my student Qing for posting comments and questions. Qing is from China and she's been very supportive of my efforts here.

Thank you everyone for reading and don't hesitate to ask me questions!