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Taka Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Or so

She must be thirty or so.

Is the age under thirty included in the estimation?
  

Top answer

Is the age under thirty included in the estimation? Around 30. ( meaning: could be 29, could be 31)

— Grammarfreak

  • Is the age under thirty included in the estimation?
  • Around 30.
  • ( meaning: could be 29, could be 31)
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8 Answers
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TakaShe must be thirty or so.Is the age under thirty included in the estimation?
Around 30. ( meaning: could be 29, could be 31)
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This is an interesting question because a native speaker never considers things like this. My first reaction was that this would cover age 27 to 33, but upon thinking about it I would say that this would generally be understood to mean 30 to 34. The age of thirty is considered a kind of milestone in the US - you're either under thirty or over it - and so using it in a statement like this would i
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I agree. There were 10 or so people in the room sounds like there were 10 or a few more than 10.

But I wouldn't bet a million dollars that the writer meant that.

Clive
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I wouldn't rule out the possibility that she is 29.
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So "when I was thirty or so" could mean "when I was in my early thirties" but "when I was about thirty" could not?
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Taka, forgive me for saying that you are trying to be too absolute. Both are imprecise expressions
You need to be aware of how different degrees of certainty are expressed by English speakers..
eg If I say A means B, I am stating it as a fact..
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Cliveeg If I say A means B, I am stating it as a fact..
eg If I say A sounds like B, I am expressing some reservation, some lack of certainty.
I know. That's why I said "could mean" with "could" in Italics.

Sorry about seeming too absolute. This question is related to a translation I'm working on, so I cannot be too cautious on this.
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An0nymousThis is an interesting question because a native speaker never considers things like this. My first reaction was that this would cover age 27 to 33, but upon thinking about it I would say that this would generally be understood to mean 30 to 34. The age of thirty is considered a kind of milestone in the US - you're either under
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