- The 19th century was marked by the abolition of slavery.
- The 19th century marked the abolition of slavery.
Which is correct?
The meaning is that the abolition of slavery was an important event in the 19th century.
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2Welcome to the site. We like to help those who first try to help themselves. Have a look at dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mark. Mark = to represent something that has happened in the past. It may work both ways: A may Mark B and B may mark A. If you still have difficulty, please edit your question to make your difficulty clear.– AntonCommented Mar 22, 2022 at 22:24
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1It's not easy to find the 'is / commemorates the time/period when [some salient event] takes/took place' sense: M-W has 'this year marks our 50th anniversary' [Verb: 2c2 subsense]. But it exists (I'd say it sounds far better with anniversaries).– Edwin AshworthCommented Mar 23, 2022 at 16:57
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2They mean slightly different things, though the difference is hard to describe. Mainly it depends on which side you want to emphasize.– Hot LicksCommented Mar 31, 2022 at 0:55
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2I think I'd say "The 20th century was marked by a series of ethnic conflicts" but "1956 marked the end of British ambitions as a world power." It seems to relate to how many events and what the exact status is: a mark is a single point, but something can be marked by multiple things. It might also depend on if you're emphasising the point in time or the events.– Stuart FCommented Mar 31, 2022 at 9:49
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Why does one have to be correct? They mean different things.– John LawlerCommented Mar 31, 2022 at 16:04
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4 Answers
Taking up the point raised in comments by StuartF, a stretch of time is marked by (i.e. characterized by) certain features and a particular point in time (such as a particular year in a century or a day on the calendar) marks (i.e. stands as the end or beginning) of something.
A stretch of time can be marked by ongoing trends or conflicts, say, and a point in time can mark the occasion when something takes place.
14th century England was marked by the plague.
Labor Day marks the end of the summer in the US.
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I'd agree, though 'The beginning of 2022 was marked by the outbreak of war in Ukraine' say shows that the conflict may well start in the cited period. Commented Sep 16 at 14:51
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Yes. But I didn't want to get into how blunt the point-in-time can be. "The beginning of 2022" can serve as a point and be closer to a point than to a stretch. Sometimes the point is a finely sharpened one and sometimes it is a fat crayon.– TimRCommented Sep 16 at 15:51
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I think that, while both may work, I would use the second option here. "Was marked by" has, to me, negative connotations - as if the abolition of slavery was some sort of a stain, a big negative thing that defined the century (a mark), which I, and most people (I hope) very much disagree with. The second option also seems more natural to me. If you wanted to talk about something negative you may choose to use the first option, but to me it really does just imply a large negative defining event. Perhaps that's just me though. Since both are grammatically correct it's ultimately up to you which you choose, I just thought I'd offer up my opinion. In a more academic context you might want to use option 1 purely because it is "more" correct - see j D3V's answer. But in general use both work.
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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.– Community BotCommented Mar 31, 2022 at 1:29
If you want to say that “the abolition of slavery was an important event in the 19th century,” why not just say it?
Your two formulations are more subject than this straight-forward statement to interpretations that you apparently don’t want, and therefore create puzzlement rather than clarity for the reader.
- The 19th century was marked by the abolition of slavery.
- The 19th century marked the abolition of slavery.
#1 is correct; #2 is incorrect.
#1 is the correct sentence because, the 19th century was most certainly marked by the abolition of slavery, however; the abolition of slavery was not marked by the 19th century (that might sound redundant, if it does, think about it).
To Help Clarify my Argument
I would also argue that the abolition of slavery was not significant because it happened in the 19th century, but rather, the 19th century was significant, because the abolition of slavery took place with-in the 19th century
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It's not easy to find the 'is / commemorates the time/period when [some salient event] takes/took place' sense in dictionaries, admittedly, but it exists, and M-W has 'this year marks our 50th anniversary' [Verb: 2c2 subsense]. Commented Apr 30, 2022 at 18:20
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2) makes no sense. You are right about that. It should be: The abolition of slavery marked the 19th century.– LambieCommented Jan 20 at 16:46
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1Juneteenth marks the abolition of slavery; the 19th century doesn't. Although the OP isn't helped by the fact that marked in "The 19th century was marked by the abolition of slavery" could mean different things: "delimited/outlined by", "characterised by", or "having as marks/stains/highlights/landmarks", and the first two don't seem very accurate, while the third suggests either a negative thing ("marked by violence" is a common collocation) or multiple things ("marked by black and white stripes").– Stuart FCommented Jan 22 at 17:36