Didn't find the book interesting

Question

If I say 'I didn't find the book interesting',
does it mean that

1) I didn't find the fact the book was interesting, or
2) I found that the book was not interesting.'
I suspect that it might mean either, depending on context.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]If I say 'I didn't find the book interesting', does it mean that 1) I didn't find the fact the book was interesting, or 2) I found that the book was not interesting.' I suspect that it might mean either, depending on context.[/nq]
It means "I thought the book was boring." #1 above is impossible, I think. I have no idea what it might mean. #2 is technical English and best not used in informal speech. The idiomatic AmE using "find" in this context is, I think, "I didn't find the book interesting". Your sentence is just what a medical researcher would say about the outcome of an experiment, eg, "We found that giving aprict-pit paste to rats with lipopolysaccharide-induced septic shock syndrome was not therapeutic". Findings are the results of experiments, not expressions of opinion.
OTOH, it is perfectly normal AmE to say "I found the book {uninteresting / boring}". This is the expression of a personal opinion and not a finding of fact on a par with medical researchers or with juries, who find the defendant guilty as charged or not guilty.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor
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Usenet · Answer

What I intended to mean by 1) is that
Although the book is interesting, I failed to find it.
If it is 'that clause' like: I didn't find that the book was interesting,
how about it?
Or if you say 'I didn't find that the book is interesting, it might mean more clearly that I failed to notice the fact about the book being
interesting, I guess.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What I intended to mean by 1) is that Although the book is interesting, I failed to find it.[/nq]
In that case, you would always say "I failed to find the interesting book." In English, we put the gerund before the noun it modifies, not after.
(The only exception to this would be if an author chose to use an unorthodox word order for poetic or dramatic effect. This would be rare and would likely confuse most readers until they understood the context.)
[nq:1]Or if you say 'I didn't find that the book is interesting, it might mean more clearly that I failed to notice the fact about the book being interesting, I guess.[/nq]
That way of saying it is not exactly wrong, but it does seem unnecessarily wordy. "I failed to find the book interesting" is a sentence that would be perfectly well understood by all native American speakers of English - although I think most would say "I didn't find the book interesting" rather than "I failed to".

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What I intended to mean by 1) is that Although the book is interesting, I failed to find it.[/nq]
[nq:1]In that case, you would always say "I failed to find the interesting book." In English, we put the gerund before the noun it modifies, not after.[/nq]
Because it creates an ambiguity.
[nq:1](The only exception to this would be if an author chose to use an unorthodox word order for poetic or dramatic effect. This would be rare and would likely confuse most readers until they understood the context.)[/nq]
[nq:2]Or if you say 'I didn't find that the book ... notice the fact about the book being interesting, I guess.[/nq]
[nq:1]That way of saying it is not exactly wrong, but it does seem unnecessarily wordy. "I failed to find the ... of English - although I think most would say "I didn't find the book interesting" rather than "I failed to".[/nq]
I failed to even find the book.

"He's asking if you killed Freddie Miles and then killed Dickie Greenleaf."
"No, I did not kill Freddie Miles and then kill Dickie Greenleaf." -, "The Talented Mr Ripley"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]If I say 'I didn't find the book interesting', does it mean that 1) I didn't find the fact the book was interesting, or 2) I found that the book was not interesting.' I suspect that it might mean either, depending on context.[/nq]
Yes. For all the verbs that express thought or opinion (think, believe, find, etc.), this construction is ambiguous.
I don't think X is so. ((X is so) stands for anything.)

Usually, especially in the last few years, it means

I think X is not so.
Sometimes, it is more literal:
I never thought that X is so. (I never gave it any thought, or I never held that opinion.)
Once in a while, it is a sort of emphatic:
It's not that I merely think* X is so, I *know it for a fact!

When I notice myself using the lazy and ambiguous "I don't think that..." I try rewording it into something more clear. But it's extremely common.

Best Donna Richoux

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]If I say 'I didn't find the book interesting', does it mean that 1) I didn't find the fact the book was interesting, or 2) I found that the book was not interesting.' I suspect that it might mean either, depending on context.[/nq]
It means 2.
I don't know what (1) means at all.

Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/7734/stevesig.htm
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

Usenet · Answer

It's the end of the world as we know it, and Masa feels...
[nq:1]If I say 'I didn't find the book interesting', does it mean that 1) I didn't find the fact the book was interesting, or 2) I found that the book was not interesting.' I suspect that it might mean either, depending on context.[/nq]
"I didn't find the book, but there's an interesting story as to why it's buried under three inches of pizza boxes and dirty clothes."

"I don't do anything, not one single thing. I used to bite my nails, but I don't even do that any more." (attributed to Dorothy Parker)
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Didn't find the book interesting

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