Or so

Question

Hi teachers,The Taliban posed a threat to the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but was not capable of directly striking the people of America - or so it was widely thought.1.  Does that mean "The Taliban was not capable of directly striking the people of American, which is at some point/ roughly widely believed"?2.  Can "or so" be placed after "....widely thought"?Thank you.Tinanam

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

tinanam0102The Taliban posed a threat to the governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan, but was not capable of directly striking the people of America - or so it was widely thought.
1. Does that mean "The Taliban was not capable of directly striking the people of American, which is at some point/ roughly widely believed"?

Close.
... not capable of directly striking the people of America. At least that was widely thought. (In any case, that was what many people believed.)

so replaces that the Taliban posed a threat ... but was not capable ... people of America.

This construction is used to hint that what was believed may have been wrong.

Compare:

Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 o'clock, or so they believed.
(Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 o'clock. Or, to be more precise, they believed that Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 o'clock.)

tinanam01022. Can "or so" be placed after "....widely thought"?

No. You can get away with placing so at the end, but that is much less natural.

... not capable of directly striking the people of America - or it was widely thought so.
(possible but not recommended)

CJ

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi CalifJim,

Thank you for your help. I'd like to ask this question

CalifJimThis construction is used to hint that what was believed may have been wrong.

Compare:Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 o'clock, or so they believed.(Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 o'clock. Or, to be more precise, they believed that Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 o'clock.)

CJ

I hope you will understand my questions becasue they are poorly expressed.

1. Do you mean the construction for my question was "what people believe that directly striking the people of American was not possible may have been wrong."? In the piece of this writing, when I read on, I see the examples of attacks carried out, which are contrary to the believe most people thought.

2. When you suggest to compare with the Jane question, do you mean the construction does not apply to Jane question?

3. In Jane question, did Jane come at 3 o'clock?

4. What do you mean "they believed Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 O'clock"? Did they have the time confused actually?

Thank you very much.

Tinanam

CalifJim · Answer

tinanam01021. Do you mean the construction for my question was "what people believe that directly striking the people of American was not possible may have been wrong."? In the piece of this writing, when I read on, I see the examples of attacks carried out, which are contrary to the believe most people thought.

I don't quite understand your question. I was saying that when people use the construction "or so they thought", "or so they believed", or similar phrases, they intend to say that "what they thought/believed" and "what was actually true" might be two different things.

tinanam01022. When you suggest to compare with the Jane question, do you mean the construction does not apply to Jane question?

When I head a group of examples with "Compare:" I mean that the examples which follow illustrate the same principle I have discussed earlier in the post. So the example with "Jane" simply shows another case where "or so" is used. I always hope that the examples I give for comparison are easier to understand than the original example posted. You may be able to learn a concept more easily if you see another example of the same construction.

tinanam01023. In Jane question, did Jane come at 3 o'clock?

There is not enough information in that sentence to answer this question. We only know that it was believed that Jane would meet them at 3 o'clock. We don't know if she ever arrived.

tinanam01024. What do you mean "they believed Jane was supposed to meet them at 3 O'clock"? Did they have the time confused actually?

The sentence hints that they were confused about the time. Yes.

In most cases of "or so they thought" / "or so they believed", the next few sentences usually show how those who "thought" or "believed" something actually believed something which was false.

CJ

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi CalifJim,

Thank you very much for all these questions.

Tinanam

Or so

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