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Allan Chen
Could you please explain to me in detail
if you can't address this problem in your own way, I would suggest you approach it the way i asked you to. in this case, approach = resolve, right? I would like to know if approach and resolve are grammatically interchangeable in whatever context? Or approach can be used as the meaning of "resolve in a specific context?
Dec 24, 2017 1:28 PM
Answers · 2
1
approach is not the same as resolve
at the beginning of the sentence you have "address this problem" - this means to deal with a matter or problem ("in order to address the problem of climate change, many countries are passing laws restricting the use of coal in factories).
So the person is not asking the person to RESOLVE a problem (that is come up with a solution). INstead the person is saying "you should DEAL WITH IT" in the way I suggested.
So really "address a problem" and "approach a problem" are much closer in meaning than approach and resolve.
Dealing with a problem IS NOT the same as coming up with a solution.
here are some examples from the Cambridge Learners Dictionary
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/approach
We really ought to approach the problem in a more scientific manner.
He approached the task in a very mature and systematic way.
It's difficult to know how to approach such a complex situation.
The new boss approaches staff discipline much more strictly.
My two children have very different ways of approaching things.
December 24, 2017
In this context resolve and approach are interchangeable, and your use is basically correct, but "solve" would be a better word choice than resolve. Also, note that in this context "approach" focuses more on the steps that will be taken to solve the problem and not the resolution itself.
December 24, 2017
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Allan Chen
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), English
Learning Language
English
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