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Jan Henk Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary
In private V. in secret
Hello,
I just got back my English test and I was confused by the disapproval of my answer to this question:
"
Complete the sentences
We used to meet in ____ in the woods - nobody ever knew about it.
"
The correct answer should have been 'secret' but I filled in 'private' instead.
My question is - as you may have guessed - is using 'private' instead of 'secret' wrong?
Kind regards,
Jan Henk
I just got back my English test and I was confused by the disapproval of my answer to this question:
"
Complete the sentences
We used to meet in ____ in the woods - nobody ever knew about it.
"
The correct answer should have been 'secret' but I filled in 'private' instead.
My question is - as you may have guessed - is using 'private' instead of 'secret' wrong?
Kind regards,
Jan Henk
Top answer
"
- "
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5 Answers
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It's a poor question, as both words are acceptable in this context.
However, that's not always the case. Mr Trump and Mrs May will at some stage have private meetings, when no-one else will know what they're discussing unless one or both of them later make it known.
However, those are not secret meetings, as everybody knows they are taking place.
However, that's not always the case. Mr Trump and Mrs May will at some stage have private meetings, when no-one else will know what they're discussing unless one or both of them later make it known.
However, those are not secret meetings, as everybody knows they are taking place.
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in private to me, this means in a private place, eg in someone's home.
The woods are a public place, unless you are rich enough to own them.
in secret means that no-one knows you are meeting. To me, this is the correct answer.
The woods are a public place, unless you are rich enough to own them.
in secret means that no-one knows you are meeting. To me, this is the correct answer.
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In my opinion the second part of the sentence is more of a hint towards thinking of 'secret' instead of 'private', which doesn't make 'private' an incorrect answer.
What you could also say: "We used to meet in private in the woods, it was a secret as no one ever knew about it."
What you could also say: "We used to meet in private in the woods, it was a secret as no one ever knew about it."
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Given the context of the sentence, in secret is correct. The defining words are "nobody ever knew about it".
In private means that what occurred (during the meeting in the woods) can be (and probably is) a secret kept between those who were present at the meeting, but the fact that the meeting is taking place is not secret per se.
In secret
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