Question about the verb "tell"

Question

1. But that may have more to do with Japanese life-styles. "In Japan," says educator Yoko Muro, "it's never a question of whether you enjoy your job and your life, but only how much you can endure." With economic growth has come centralization; fully 76 percent of Japan's 119 million citizens live in cities where community and the extended family have been abandoned in favor of isolated, two-generation households. Urban Japanese have long endured lengthy commutes (travels to and from work) and crowded living conditions, but as the old group and family values weaken, the discomfort is beginning to tell. In the past decade, the Japanese divorce rate, while still well below that of the United States, has increased by more than 50 percent, and suicides have increased by nearly one-quarter.

my question is in the clause "the discomfort is beginning to tell" what the exact meaning of the word "tell". thank you !

2. The attacks on ambition are many and come from various angles; its public defenders are few and unimpressive, where they are not extremely unattractive.

why use "where" here? "where they are not extremely unattractive." here is a attributive clause or somewhat ? And if it is ,which is the antecedent.

I am very appreciative of your replying !

Avangi · Accepted Answer

1. To tell = to show visible signs / to take a toll

2. In my experience this is very unusual. Without the comma, I believe it would mean they are few etc. in those cases where they are not etc. With the comma, I should think "although" would suffice. Edit - sorry, I missed the "un-" (I had written "and" instead of "although.") With either conjunction, I take it as simply a third clause in the sentence, subject "they," antecedent "defenders." The first clause has two predicates: attacks are and come. The second one: defenders are. The third one: they are.

Y'know, the more I read this the more I want to hedge on "where." It reminds me of the explanation of a mathmatical expression, in which you use "where" to explain the terms, and it's preceded by a comma. For example, "F=MA, where F is the applied force, etc." So I'm saying "where" works as a simple conjunction, and is acceptable whether the following information is in contrast to ("although") or in support of ("and") the prior clause. (not extremely unattractive / not extremely attractive)

(Sorry, probably not a satisfactory answer.)

Yankee · Answer

Hi Copysnake
1.
I'd say the word "tell" basically means "become evident". Look at the definitions for the intransitive uses of "tell" http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tell and here.

2.
To me, the sentence suggests that ambition frequently presents people with unattractive options. Given this situation, there aren't very many public defenders of ambition, and those public defenders are not very impressive.

Others may interpret this differently.

Copysnake · Answer

Thank you very much!
you see,it is sometimes hard for a foreign English learner to understand some expression.
it seems that the differences between cultures and means of formulation have built up a barrier to understanding. here is one example, in Chinese we don't say "That is indicative of something" ,our common expression is "That indicate something." So when i saw the sentence by the first time,i fond it hard to understand . Another example is that there is no difference in tense and pluralism in Chinese,so i often forget to chenge tense or use pulral form in my writting.
One more question just for curiosity : Did you feel confusable or somewhat hardship when you red a very complex sentences such as sentences with hyperbaton, postposition or subjunctive ?
frequently there are sentences with a long object which dose not abut against the verb,and it is sometimes confused. Some suggestions ?

Avangi · Answer

Hyperbation is a little beyond my experience.

My earliest recollection is of being surrounded by giants making strange sounds, who seemed to be sharing something that I was being left out of. I knew in may heart that I'd never understand what the **** was going on. That was hardship, yes.

But I believe reading complex formulations is much harder than hearing them. I learned by listening, and the inflections and facial expressions were often more instructive than the combinations of vowel and consonant sounds. I think the connection came later.

Question about the verb "tell"

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions