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Richuk Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Interpreting a sentence. Thanks everyone.
Hey everyone, would anyone be kind enough to offer me their opinions please as I am a little confused with a sentence. Thank you very much.
‘What did you think of the Physics lesson?
It wasn’t as fun as the Biology lessons but we learnt so much more.’
I believe the part of the answer sentence ‘we learnt so much more’ must apply to the Physics lesson rather than the Biology lessons. I believe this is due to the word ‘but’ so that the part of the sentence after the ‘but’ can correctly contrast/contradict with the part of the sentence before the ‘but’.
The sentence therefore must mean:
‘What did you think of the Physics lesson?
It wasn’t as fun as the Biology lessons but we learnt so much more [in the Physics lesson]’
I understand this logic perfectly (based on how the word ‘but’ is used) however I’ll explain my confusion. As is evident the above sentence compares a single Physics lesson to multiple Biology lessons and states more was learnt from the Physics lesson. Does this mean more was learnt in the single Physics lesson than all of the Biology lessons combined (very unlikely scenario in my opinion) or more was learnt in the single Physics lesson than any comparable individual Biology lesson.
How would you interpret the answer? Thank you very much for your help, it is very much appreciated.
‘What did you think of the Physics lesson?
It wasn’t as fun as the Biology lessons but we learnt so much more.’
I believe the part of the answer sentence ‘we learnt so much more’ must apply to the Physics lesson rather than the Biology lessons. I believe this is due to the word ‘but’ so that the part of the sentence after the ‘but’ can correctly contrast/contradict with the part of the sentence before the ‘but’.
The sentence therefore must mean:
‘What did you think of the Physics lesson?
It wasn’t as fun as the Biology lessons but we learnt so much more [in the Physics lesson]’
I understand this logic perfectly (based on how the word ‘but’ is used) however I’ll explain my confusion. As is evident the above sentence compares a single Physics lesson to multiple Biology lessons and states more was learnt from the Physics lesson. Does this mean more was learnt in the single Physics lesson than all of the Biology lessons combined (very unlikely scenario in my opinion) or more was learnt in the single Physics lesson than any comparable individual Biology lesson.
How would you interpret the answer? Thank you very much for your help, it is very much appreciated.
Top answer
You seem to understand the sentences perfectly. " When I read your question, it didn't occur to me until I reached the very end, that he might be summing up the learning. When you consider the context, it seems likely that the respondant is thinking of "a typical class," because he mentions the fun first.
- You seem to understand the sentences perfectly.
- " When I read your question, it didn't occur to me until I reached the very end, that he might be summing up the learning.
- When you consider the context, it seems likely that the respondant is thinking of "a typical class," because he mentions the fun first.
- Surely he would not be thinking of "total fun"!
- In these cases, we usually think in terms of the level of enjoyment and happiness in a class.
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4 Answers
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You seem to understand the sentences perfectly.
I guess you'd have to ask the speaker if he's thinking of the total "learning" in the Biology classes, or if he's thinking of "a typical Biology class."
When I read your question, it didn't occur to me until I reached the very end, that he might be summing up the learning.
When you consider the context, it seems likely tha
I guess you'd have to ask the speaker if he's thinking of the total "learning" in the Biology classes, or if he's thinking of "a typical Biology class."
When I read your question, it didn't occur to me until I reached the very end, that he might be summing up the learning.
When you consider the context, it seems likely tha
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Does this mean more was learnt in the single Physics lesson than all of the Biology lessons combined I doubt it. (very unlikely scenario in my opinion I agree.) or more was learnt in the single Physics lesson than any comparable individual Biology lesson. I'd say the comparison is
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Hi,
would anyone be kind enough to offer me their opinions please as I am a little confused with a sentence. Thank you very much.
You might like to be aware of this. 'Fun' is a noun. It is being used more and more as an adjective, but there are still lots of people who either object to this use or feel that it is informal.
‘What did you think of t
would anyone be kind enough to offer me their opinions please as I am a little confused with a sentence. Thank you very much.
You might like to be aware of this. 'Fun' is a noun. It is being used more and more as an adjective, but there are still lots of people who either object to this use or feel that it is informal.
‘What did you think of t
00
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