Questions tagged [interpretation]
This tag is used for questions about how a word or phrase is interpreted by a Native English speaker.
211
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How to read this confusing sentence by Henry James?
The good thing, after all, was that we should surely see no more of him.
This was not so good a thing, I admit, as not to leave me to judge
that what, essentially, made nothing else much signify was ...
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What does whisper mean in "Our Future Whispers Like a Gust of Wind"? [closed]
"Our Future Whispers Like a Gust of Wind" ⌈english cover | Sepia Pro.⌋【Liella!】
In the title of this video, whisper is used here. This title is translated from a Japanese anime song's name ...
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"Live now, pay later"-what it implies? [closed]
What's the meaning of "live now, pay later"?
I found a sentence on Cambridge dictionary:-
Live now, pay later- that's my philosophy of life.
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"Shutdown Holdouts" meaning
I came across this in the New York Times:
"How the Shutdown Holdouts Have Antagonized McCarthy Before."
The first sentence says:
"Most of the House Republicans who voted against ...
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1
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Use and meaning of "that+sub+should....."in a sentence
It’s strange that you should say that.
I think this sentence express "your saying of that is strange".
I'm not sure about the interpretation, someone give your valuable time to answer my ...
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Interpretation of "who is doing the task" in different structures
The majority of New Yorkers have also told pollsters they don't want to build a football stadium for the New York Jets on Manhattan's West Side, but Bloomberg is pushing hard for one anyway. (from ...
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Are imperfectly constructed sentences understandable? [closed]
As an English learner, when building a sentence in my head it is almost impossible to get it out idiomatically. For example, before I knew the word "regarding" I built this sentence:
"...
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What is the meaning of "social" in this context?
In the context of the following sentence:
He's not feeling very social this evening.
I have considered the following explanations for social based on dictionary definitions:
He wants to remain ...
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1
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Is the phrase "retirement community" is predefined? [closed]
Increasing life expectancy has increased the demands for medical care, retirement communities, and nursing homes.
I want to know if "retirement communities" is pre-defined, I mean its ...
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What's the meaning of "professional society" in this context?
He is a member of numerous professional societies.
-From OALD
Is the boldedface type texts implies — The groups people who come together because of their same profession.
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What's the meaning of "wider community" in this context?
**The sports centre is available to both the university and the wider community.
—From Longman dictionary
I think it means-
1)A large number of groups of people having similar interest, belief etc....
...
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What's the meaning of "economic environment" in this context?
Investors are showing more caution in the current economic environment.
I interpreted it in 2 ways:
1) Conditions in which economic activity take place
2) conditions and influences in which they carry ...
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What's the meaning of "home environment" in this context?
An unhappy home environment can affect a child's behaviour.
—From OALD
I interpreted it 2 ways:—
1)The unhappy condition of the place where the child live (as a member of the family or household) can ...
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How can I interpretate the term"scientific community" in the context? [duplicate]
The project has attracted considerable criticism from the scientific community.
Community mean as per Cambridge -the people living in one particular area or people who are considered as a unit because ...
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What's the meaning of "education community" in the context? [closed]
a policy that has been adopted by the entire education community.
Is this implies??:- a group of people who are involved in the act or process of imparting knowledge, esp at a school, college, or ...
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Meaning of the phrase "relief efforts"
I am trying to understand the following question:
She'll be coordinating the relief effort.
Consulting dictionaries, I found the following definitions:
Relief - any aid given in times of need, ...
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What should be the correct interpretation of "office/construction/factory workers"?
office/factory/construction workers
Can I interpreted it as:—
Office worker-
a person whose work is connected with the work of an office.
Factory worker-
a person whose work is connected with the work ...
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Can "I'd hate for you to miss the show." mean "I would hate it If you missed the show."?
I'd hate for you to miss the show.
Can I interpret this as so? I only want to know the correctness of the interpretation.
I would hate it if you missed the show.
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What's the meaning of "financial" here? [closed]
His motives were purely financial.
I know,Financial means —Connected with money
Can I interpreted the sentence as:—
His intentions were completely connected with money in some ways.
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What's the meaning of "legal system" in the context?
In some countries people have no faith in the legal system.
I interpreted it — In some countries people don't have faith in how the law of that country works./how the law is organized.
Am i correct ...
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is this an example of acts as a prepositional phrase?
watching this interview posted on YouTube yesterday with Paul McCartney:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21pcVuPHoek
from 7:26 Paul McCartney
says: "I owe it to him and his team who were briliant ...
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2
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does the "By + gerund" clause have a passive meaning?
I have a sentence similar to this one:
Hibernate can validate your schema by setting the Hibernate property to validate
Does it imply that Hibernate validates this schema because it (Hibernate) set ...
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What's the meaning of "relief efforts (Noun+Noun)"?
She coordinated the relief efforts in the Sudan.
What's the meaning of "relief efforts" here?
I think it means- attempts/initiatives to give/provide help/food/money etc.
Am I correct as ...
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is "if I had been" correct in this case?
in The Beatles's when I'm 64 lyric,
teh line tha says:
If I'd been out till quarter to three
Would you lock the door?
how come The contraction "I'd" is short for "I had" in this ...
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How do you interpret this sentence? "I was never made(=born) to love her."
I can think of 2 options of the interpretation of this sentence, which one is the most natural to you? Or if they are both unnatural to you, please provide your interpretation.
--> "I was ...
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Temporal interpretation of -ing clause
Eating a hearty breakfast, we prepared for our long journey.
I think this sentence alone can mean:
Eating is part of the preparation
Eating precedes the preparation (after eating we prepared).
What ...
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what is the adverb "improperly" is linked to in this sentence?
in the sentence:
"improperly Covid Aid Flowed to Fishery Businesses, New Jersey Official Finds"
is the adverb "improperly" describing "Flowed" or Covid?
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How should I read a sentence with multiple "to"s?
Planting a glyphosate-resistant crop commits a farmer to using that herbicide for the season, probably to the exclusion of all other herbicides and other weed-control practices. （TOEFL）
I'm not sure ...
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how to interpret the ambiguity of this little text?
based on this short headline:
For These Veterans, ‘Free’ Health Care Is a 5-Hour Flight Away
Citizens of three Pacific Island nations, eligible to serve in the U.S. military, find it hard to make use ...
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fragment: Finding meteorites in woods of Maine
Can anyone tell me why the author is using the fragment "Finding meteorites in woods of Maine" here? There's no finite verb in it.
===================
Darryl Pitt, head of the meteorite ...
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Perfect vs non-perfect
She wants to finish it when you return
She wants to have finished it when you return.
These are examples from my text book. It says they are different in meaning.
I made 3 and 4. I think they mean ...
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Ambiguity: There is "no question"
There should be no question in the mind of any student who has shown any interest in the subjects he is learning that his mastery of any subject is painstaking and time-consuming.
This is an example ...
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to which phrase/sentence the word "happiness" belongs to in this lyrics?
in guns and roses' since I don't have you lyrics:
" don't have plans and schemes
And I don't have hopes and dreams
I don't have anything
Since I don't have you
And I don't have fond desires
And I ...
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2
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could do nothing that is not better done elsewhere
What does the following sentence mean? Does the principle of "two negatives make a positive" apply here? If not, how we do derive the meaning in a stepwise fashion?
A full-scale ...
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what is the role of word "practical" in "practical joke"?
in this definition of practical joke,
"playful or mischievous act intended to trick, deceive, or embarrass someone for the amusement of the prankster or others. It is usually harmless in nature ...
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I am having difficulty in understanding the sentence
That he not busy being born is busy dying.
—By Bob Dylan
Actual meaning of the sentence?
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What did Paul McCartney mean by "Oh, yesterday came suddenly"? [closed]
(Verse 2)
Suddenly
I'm not half the man I used to be
There's a shadow hanging over me
Oh, yesterday came suddenly
Yesterday by The Beatles
What baffle me is the the line "Oh, yesterday came ...
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How to interpret the sense of these phrases?
in the lyrics of Paul McCartney's song This One
https://genius.com/Paul-mccartney-this-one-lyrics
I am trying to interpret this:
What opportunities did we allow to flow by
Feeling like the timing ...
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How to interpret "What do you like ..." vs "Why do you like ..." vs "How do you like ..."?
English is not my native language and I've sometimes trouble following social norms with different expressions. I hit a situation where the counterpart asked "tell me what you like about X" ...
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One negation used in one sentence with conjunction or two different clauses
I have a question with respect to English interpretation based on strict grammar rules not on context.
How would you interpret the following sentence: [The contract would not cancel and survive]?
...
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What's the meaning of "I Will Not Pass This Way Again"
In The Sense of Style, Steven Pinker quoted this church bulletin
Miss Charlene Mason sang, "I Will Not Pass This Way Again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
The church ...
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Interpretation: relative clause after a prepositional phrase
Let's consider the following sentence:
He loves these books on a shelf that his dad gave him.
I' m a bit confused about the meaning the sentence conveys. To my knowledge, I think this sentence can ...
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Am I right in my interpretation of these sentences?
His love of music, experience, and ear for harmony make him a great musician.
His love of music, experience, and ear for harmony makes him a great musician.
Are both sentences grammatically correct? ...
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Box of Grade A's?
On an episode of Seinfeld, Kramer says
"they ambushed me with a box of grade A's".
What is that?
I was unable to find a translation to that.
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Meaning of "When the sentences are as finely tuned as Garner’s, music as much as character is fate"
What “communicates” with the “creature” inside these characters is music more than speech. This book is short the way Wittgenstein’s “Tractatus” is short—it passes over in silence what language could ...
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Can anyone tell me the meaning of 'work out / fit in' in the sentence?
This all felt a bit much for a time of year when the most stressful thing I normally face is 'working out if I can fit in a fifth mince pie', or whether it's best to leave it at four.
I'm confused ...
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Could anyone tell me the meaning of 'celebration number 103'?
Can anyone tell me the meaning of 'celebration number 103'?
This is the text that I was reading in journal.
Until December 28, that is, when, as I set out towards 'celebration number 103' of the ...
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'Fail to take' interpretation
The skin graft failed to take.
What does 'take' do here?
What is the right way to interpret the verb 'take'?
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What does "working as a flower a-ranger" mean? [closed]
I remember reading the following comment thread below the scifi.se question "How did the Rangers of the North make a living in the Lord of the Rings?":
[4 upvotes] Working as a flower a-...
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What does "most" mean in "why do you most want to work here"?
Filling an interview form, I read the question
Why do you most want to work here?
What exactly does "most" mean?
I read Where should "most" be in this sentence?
and it seems to ...
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