0
MrCurious Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
what to make
Americans, pound for pound, are reputed to be the most obese people in the world. What to make, then, of their relentless pursuit of youth, longevity and fitness? Everyone I know belongs to a gym, or at least owns the latest running shoes.
Can someone tell me what "what to make" means in the sentence.
Can someone tell me what "what to make" means in the sentence.
Top answer
What to make of something. How can/should we understand/comprehend the reason for .......
- What to make of something.
- How can/should we understand/comprehend the reason for .......
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
3 Answers
0
What to make of something.
How can/should we understand/comprehend the reason for .......
How can/should we understand/comprehend the reason for .......
00
Hi,
It's a fixed kind of phrase that means 'How should we interpret/understand this?'
A longer form is 'What should we make of their relentless pursuit . . . ' or
'What (are we) to make of their . . . '
It's a slightly literary, formal kind of expression.
It's also a rhetorical question
Clive
It's a fixed kind of phrase that means 'How should we interpret/understand this?'
A longer form is 'What should we make of their relentless pursuit . . . ' or
'What (are we) to make of their . . . '
It's a slightly literary, formal kind of expression.
It's also a rhetorical question
Clive
00
It's not "what to make"; it's "what to make of". The word then intervenes in your example, making it difficult to see that the full idiom is what to make of, which means How should we interpret ...? (said of something that is puzzling). The idiom is used most often with expressions of not knowing.
The man in the train suddenly jumped up and began to
The man in the train suddenly jumped up and began to
0
Related Questions