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Pructus Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
Ran up
Hello...
What does this mean?
Does this mean he mathematically added up all the numbers?
Or he went through the numbers to see if there was something wrong?
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He ran up the list of the figures.
What does this mean?
Does this mean he mathematically added up all the numbers?
Or he went through the numbers to see if there was something wrong?
*********
He ran up the list of the figures.
Top answer
‘run’ is used in many ways. You can run through an agenda (meaning, quickly read it out); you can run up a tab at a bar (meaning, continue ordering expensive drinks without paying for them as you do so); you can run your finger up a printed list (meaning, slide your finger over items to select one). It sounds as though it is the last of these meanings, in the past tense.
- ‘run’ is used in many ways.
- You can run through an agenda (meaning, quickly read it out); you can run up a tab at a bar (meaning, continue ordering expensive drinks without paying for them as you do so); you can run your finger up a printed list (meaning, slide your finger over items to select one).
- It sounds as though it is the last of these meanings, in the past tense.
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18 Answers
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‘run’ is used in many ways. You can run through an agenda (meaning, quickly read it out); you can run up a tab at a bar (meaning, continue ordering expensive drinks without paying for them as you do so); you can run your finger up a printed list (meaning, slide your finger over items to select one).
It sounds as though it is the last of these meanings, in the past tense.
It sounds as though it is the last of these meanings, in the past tense.
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Thanks GPY!!
Actually, there was no more context.
It was presented as an example sentence, explaining about phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs.
What I am curious about is that if it is not allowed to understand the sentence to mean "He added all the numerical figures, mathematically".
Or, in isolation, can the sentence mean this meaning, "He added all the numerica
Actually, there was no more context.
It was presented as an example sentence, explaining about phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs.
What I am curious about is that if it is not allowed to understand the sentence to mean "He added all the numerical figures, mathematically".
Or, in isolation, can the sentence mean this meaning, "He added all the numerica
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pructusOr, in isolation, can the sentence mean this meaning, "He added all the numerical figures, mathematically"."run up" can be used of figures to mean do some kind of calculations to arrive at a result. If you search Google for "run up some figures" (with quotes) you will see several examples. My feeling, however, is that the object of "run up" is normally
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I agree with GPY. Without the word 'list' in the question, that would have been my suggestion.
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Thanks again, GPY!!
With the replies presented here, I feel that "He ran up the list of the figures." is ambiguous, at least in isolation.
Then, it is likely to mean "He went over the list of the figures to make sure the data is correct or to find some necessary data from the list of figures"?
With the replies presented here, I feel that "He ran up the list of the figures." is ambiguous, at least in isolation.
Then, it is likely to mean "He went over the list of the figures to make sure the data is correct or to find some necessary data from the list of figures"?
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So, what do you think, GPY?
Is it possible to understand the sentence to mean "He added the figures mathematically", without further context?
With your explanations and those of Wilpeter's, I feel that the answer is NO.
Is it possible to understand the sentence to mean "He added the figures mathematically", without further context?
With your explanations and those of Wilpeter's, I feel that the answer is NO.
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pructusWhat does this mean? ... He ran up the list of the figures.1. He added up the figures on the list to find the total. (more likely, I'd say)
2. He scanned the list looking for something. (much less likely, I'd say)
CJ
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