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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
Strange sentence in an old English dictionary
Hi! I have an English exam in two days and I am brushing up my English a bit. My father showed me an old English dictionary and said that I could use it. I quickly read a couple of pages and found the sentence:
'Mary could be pretty trying when she was a child.'
It was an example on how to use 'could' correctly. I find this a rather strange sentence, which I can't even translate properly. I guess it means that she knew how to look pretty when she was a child, but is the grammar outdated in this example or am I unaware of something?
'Mary could be pretty trying when she was a child.'
It was an example on how to use 'could' correctly. I find this a rather strange sentence, which I can't even translate properly. I guess it means that she knew how to look pretty when she was a child, but is the grammar outdated in this example or am I unaware of something?
Top answer
Anonymous is the grammar outdated in this example or am I unaware of something? You are unaware that 'pretty' (= somewhat, rather) is an adverb and 'trying' (= difficult to deal with) is an adjective. The sentence is common and natural.
- Anonymous is the grammar outdated in this example or am I unaware of something?
- You are unaware that 'pretty' (= somewhat, rather) is an adverb and 'trying' (= difficult to deal with) is an adjective.
- The sentence is common and natural.
- Mary could be pretty trying = Mary was sometimes difficult to cope with
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2 Answers
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Anonymous is the grammar outdated in this example or am I unaware of something?You are unaware that 'pretty' (= somewhat, rather) is an adverb and 'trying' (= difficult to deal with) is an adjective. The sentence is common and natural.
Mary could be pretty trying = Mary was sometimes difficult to cope with
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