0

I told my friend an idea and described what the idea can achieve. My friend is a native English speaker and he said this to me:

I don’t believe that there is much of what you describe.

I am not a native English speaker. I am not quite sure about his meaning.

Does he mean I didn't tell him enough details about the idea?

Or does he mean the goals that my idea can achieve are not very significant.

Or he simply doesn't think it is a good idea?

Thanks.

Improve this question
2
  • You should have asked him. You still can ask him. When we speak it is a two way process. The speaker expects the listener to ask if things aren't clear. (This is just as true when two native speakers are conversing as when there is a non-native speaker).
    – James K
    Aug 29, 2020 at 12:59
  • @JamesK Unfortunately, I am not able to talk to my friend at least for short term for some reason. But I have to make a decision about the idea as soon as possible.
    – smwikipedia
    Aug 29, 2020 at 13:04

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

It means he doesn't like the idea, though it is possibly ambiguous.

"I don't think much of X" means that you think X is quite bad.

I don't think much of this book. The story is boring and the characters seem flat.

Now what he actually said doesn't make sense: Literally it means "the thing that you described only exists in small amounts" That is probably not the intended meaning.

I think we should build houses out of a strong metal that never rusts.

I don't think that there is much of what you describe. (Ie there isn't much strong metal that doesn't rust)

He probably meant to say something like

I don't think that there is much in what you describe.

Which means that the idea is not thought through or not detailed enough.

However the situation seems to be very odd. A person wouldn't just say that and nothing else. They would describe what the issues are. It strikes me as very unusual behaviour for any person just to say that, and almost unimaginable for a "friend".

So the proper answer is "ask him".

Improve this answer
1
  • I will ask him when he wakes up... Your answer gives me some clue. And it kind of match what he said in the rest of his reply. He listed some previous efforts, which was similar but didn't end well. Thanks.
    – smwikipedia
    Aug 29, 2020 at 13:16

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .