When you hear the words "volunteer work," what comes to your mind?
(In this sentence why were quotation marks used? And what other expressions can we use instead of "What comes to your mind?)
The quotation marks are used to point up the words that you want your audience to consider. Otherwise, they would confuse the sentence.
You may also say, "what occurs to you?"
"What do you think of?"
The quotation marks were used in the sentence "When you hear the words 'volunteer work,' what comes to your mind?" to indicate that the words being mentioned, "volunteer work," are being quoted or referred to directly.
Instead of using the expression "What comes to your mind," you can also use phrases such as:
- "What do you think of when you hear the words 'volunteer work'?"
- "What images or thoughts does 'volunteer work' evoke for you?"
- "What first pops into your head when you think about 'volunteer work'?"
- "What associations do you have with the term 'volunteer work'?"
These alternative phrases essentially serve the same purpose of asking someone what thoughts or ideas they have when they hear the specific words or term mentioned.