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New2grammar Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

i couldn't get them to help me.

0Linn Labou, 54, lives in her car with four cats. She used to be in the National Guard and is on a waiting list for government housing, but the wait is a year long.02br
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01font00"I went looking for family, but I couldn't get them to help me," she said.02font02br
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00I don't get her meaning. Does it mean she turned to her family for help but decided it was inappropriate and turned down their offer to help?02br
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00Thanks in advance!0-
  

Top answer

0 Yes. She went to her family, but they didn't help her out. 0-

— Philip

  • 0 Yes.
  • She went to her family, but they didn't help her out.
  • 0-
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14 Answers
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0 Yes. She went to her family, but they didn't help her out. 0-
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0I interpret your reply "They didn't help her out" as "They didn't offer help even though she asked".02br
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00My interpretation was "She went but when she was there, she changed her mind and though the family offered help, she turned them down"02br
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00I hope you're able to understand my explanation.0-
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0 From this sentence it is not clear who would not give her help. 02br
00Did she need help in looking for her family, but was unable to get it?02br
00Or, was it that she found her family, but they were not willing to help her? 0-
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0Hi Optilang,02br
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00I think from the sentence, it means she found her family, but now that I've re-read the sentence, the second clause is ambiguous in that either she refused to accept their help or the family refused to help. 02br
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00This is my interpretation. How many possible meanings does this sentence have?0-
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0 If she found her family the meaning is clear - she couldn't get them to help her. It means that no matter what she did or said, 01b00her family02b00 would not help01b00 her02b0-
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0So the other interpretation of mine is not possible at all?0-
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0 No, there is nothing to suggest that she refused help.02br
00I couldn't get them to help me: = I tried to get help from them but they refused to help me no matter what I said/did 0-
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0What would you say to mean "she refused to accept their help" starting with "I can't"?0-
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0 they offered me a house free of charge but I couldn't accept it0-
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0 or02br
00I couldn't accept their help 0-
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