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Jackson6612 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has returned home to what has officially been described as a sensational welcome

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has returned home to what has officially been described as a sensational welcome.

Would the above sentence have been correct if it was written as:
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has returned home to a sensational welcome?

What function does to serve? Is it a preposition?

Does the given sentence mean the same as the above one?
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has received a sensational welcome on his return back home.
  

Top answer

The three sentences are different wordings of about the same message. Note the "official" part in the first sentence. In the third sentence, it would be better to omit "back", because "re-turn" includes that concept.

— Philip

  • The three sentences are different wordings of about the same message.
  • Note the "official" part in the first sentence.
  • In the third sentence, it would be better to omit "back", because "re-turn" includes that concept.
  • Common error among native speakers: people often say that they will re fer back to a previous comment.
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2 Answers
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The three sentences are different wordings of about the same message. Note the "official" part in the first sentence. In the third sentence, it would be better to omit "back", because "re-turn" includes that concept. Common error among native speakers: people often say that they will refer back to a previous comment.
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Jackson6612Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has returned home to what has officially been described as a sensational welcome.
This formulation is used to indicate skepticism on the part of the writer. He means to imply that the welcome was not as "sensational" as the official reports would have you believe.
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