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Hi teachers,The Context:‘Yes, but you escaped from prison,’ Olivia said quickly. ‘You have a lot of friends. Perhaps Pauli can help you. Or …’‘Perhaps. I’ve got some good friends. I know that. But I’ve got a lot of enemies too,’ Alex said slowly. ‘Very dangerous enemies.’Question (I'm not really sure about the answer)Did Alex have as many friends as enemies? Explain your answer.Yes he did. Olivia said he had a lot of friends, and he said he had got a lot of enemies.Thanks in advance.

Elanguest · Accepted Answer

Hmm.

A lotis a bit ambiguous. I don't think it can be said that if you have a lot of one thing and a lot of another, you have both in equal parts.

Surfer · Answer

Tenacious LearnerDid Alex have as many friends as enemies? Explain your answer.

Hello, TL.

I think that's impossible to answer. For me, it's basically asking if both his friends and his enemies are equal in number, the thing that's not mentioned in the passage.. .

But if you meant to ask whether his friends were many, just as his enemies were, then you could ask something like:
Did Alex have a lot of friends, the way/as he did enemies?

Tenacious Learner · Answer

Hi,
Thanks a lot for your replies.

This one also works, doesn't it?
Did he have friends as well as enemies?
a) Yes, he had both.
b) Yes, he had both, friends an enemies.

How could the answer for the 'explain your answer' part be? Could it be the one I wrote in my first post?

TL

Elanguest · Answer

Sounds good to me. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Tenacious Learner · Answer

ElanguestSounds good to me.

Hi,
Thanks for your reply. Do you mean both, the question and the 'explain your answer' part?

TL

Elanguest · Answer

Yes. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/5.gif' alt='Emotion: wink'/>

Tenacious Learner · Answer

ElanguestYes

Hi,
Thanks! No further questions at this point.

TL

Tenacious Learner · Answer

The Context:
‘Yes, but you escaped from prison,’ Olivia said quickly. ‘You have a lot of friends. Perhaps Pauli can help you. Or …’
‘Perhaps. I’ve got some good friends. I know that. But I’ve got a lot of enemies too,’ Alex said slowly. ‘Very dangerous enemies.’
Hi,
Did Alex have friends as well as enemies? Explain your answer.
Wouldn't answers 'a' and 'b' be correct too?
a) Yes, he did. Alex said he had some good friends and added that he had a lot of enemies too.
b) Yes, he did. Alex said he had some good friends and a lot of enemies too.

TL

Surfer · Answer

Tenacious LearnerDid Alex have friends as well as enemies? Explain your answer.
Wouldn't answers 'a' and 'b' be correct too?
a) Yes, he did. Alex said he had some good friends and added that he had a lot of enemies too.
b) Yes, he did. Alex said he had some good friends and a lot of enemies too.

Hello, TL.

Alex didn't say he had friends, Olivia said he did.

The answer should be:
Yes, he did. ~~Alex~~ Olivia said he had some good friends, and he added that he had a lot of enemies too.

Tenacious Learner · Answer

SurferAlex didn't say he had friends, Olivia said he did.

Hi Surfer,

Thanks for your reply. I think he did say so.
This is the context:
‘Yes, but you escaped from prison,’ Olivia said quickly. ‘You have a lot of friends. Perhaps Pauli can help you. Or …’
‘Perhaps. I’ve got some good friends. I know that. But I’ve got a lot of enemies too,’ Alex said slowly. ‘Very dangerous enemies.’

The words 'Perhaps' refers to the possibility that Pauli can help him, doesn't it?
And the next sentence says, 'I've got some good friends'. I know that'.
Therefore, he said he had some good friends, didn't he?

TL

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