an English question

@dufresne (137)
China
June 4, 2009 3:56am CST
In the sentence "Did you notice that the airline schedules factor in the effect of the jet stream(a strong air current way beyond us) on flight times?", does "factor" play the role of verb? and what it means?
2 people like this
4 responses
GADHISUNU
@GADHISUNU (2162)
• India
4 Jun 09
It is a verb- a phrasal verb at that. Meaning: Take into account.
dufresne
@dufresne (137)
• China
4 Jun 09
Can I say "factor in" equals "take into account" instead of "factor" alone?
1 person likes this
GADHISUNU
@GADHISUNU (2162)
• India
4 Jun 09
Exactly. the words 'factor' and 'in' together make the phrasal verb(PV), just like take into account is also a PV.
katsalot1
@katsalot1 (1618)
•
4 Jun 09
You can say 'airline schedules take into account the effect'.
K.Rajib G.
@krajibg (11922)
• Guwahati, India
4 Jun 09
Hi, The word 'factor' is basically a noun but this belongs to the open class category and hence transforming this into a very is all feasible. Here in the sentence the semantic level also has undergone a change it is different from what it really means. Here it means 'causes', 'makes impact' like. So it is not wrong. The usage is permissible.
K.Rajib G.
@krajibg (11922)
• Guwahati, India
4 Jun 09
This phrasal verb is usually used in technical terms. It could mean inclusion of a particular fact or situation as you are thinking on this.
scarlet_woman
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
4 Jun 09
it means "add in" or "calculate/adjust for" in that sense.
thenextnoel
@thenextnoel (396)
• Philippines
4 Jun 09
factor in this sentence means "take into account" or "include". I'm not so sure but I think it's a verb.
Guitarpunk
@Guitarpunk (738)
• United States
4 Jun 09
You are right.