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Rather good vs. quite good


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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Difficult sentences from the book Washington Square | "Significance" vs "Importance"
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Idiom expressions Sat Jul 22, 2006 7:39 am  Idiom expressions
 

Conchita wrote:
Just this one more episode won't hurt now, will it?

Quote:
Rather you than me.
said by someone who does not want to do the thing that someone else is doing:
"I've got to have two teeth out next week." "Rather you than me."

How's that for encouragement?

Hi Conchita

I’ve found that Rather you than me is an idiom, a general one. In this particular case, 'an expression used when someone has something unpleasant or arduous to do. It is meant in a good natured way of expressing both sympathy and having a bit of a laugh at their expense.'

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/rather+you+than+me.html

As it’s a fixed expression where the meaning of separate words might be not 'pure' (in the sense of 'general rules' Smile ), I’d rather not take this as a true wild worm. But maybe, I’m wrong.

P.S. Anyway, the expression also contains some negative (or contradict or rejecting) shade which (in my today's understanding and practice) accompanies actual use of 'rather' in most cases. Even when rather is used as a strengthening (comparative) adverb with the meaning 'very' or 'to a large degree', 'more accurately', 'more exactly', etc).
Except for Rather='yes' in informal (fashionable Smile) British.

Tamara
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Tamara
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Continuing the rather/quite saga... Tue Jul 25, 2006 3:44 am  Continuing the rather/quite saga...
 

I was looking around on the Web trying to figure out how to describe the word "quite" to Chinese speakers (on the China Daily BBS, of all places) when I came across this thread.

Quote:
quite

As I understand, in the same context American and British people tend to interpret the meaning of quite a bit differently. I mean:

quite (AmE) = 'very' or 'extremely'
quite (BrE) = 'reasonably, but not very'

This quote reminded me of how, when I was in second grade, my mother surprised me one day when she appeared as a substitute teacher for my class. At the end of the day, as she drove me home, I settled into the back seat of the car and announced, "You know, you were quite good today."

The meaning—from my American mouth to her American ears—was not lost on either of us. (My mother, to her credit, found it endlessly amusing and told the anecdote for years.)
Californian
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Joined: 25 Jul 2006
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High praise :) Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:39 am  High praise :)
 

Smile

Hi Californian!

As I remember, in "My Fair Lady" (American version, 196?4?) the queen calls Eliza quite charming". And the meaning is also quite clear.
High praise. Almost as in your case Smile
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Rather good vs. quite good Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:50 am  Rather good vs. quite good
 

Hi all,

I am totally agree with you about the use of "rather" and "quite" that you've mentioned.
I'd like to ask something.
In general:
Quite (positive meaning), rather (negative meaning).
Ex: She's quite intelligent but rather lazy.

Besides:

1/
Quite + a/an +noun or quite +verb.
Ex: It's quite a nice day.
I quite like tennis.

2/
Rather + a/an +noun = rather + noun + a/an
Ex: It was a rather difficult question.
= It was rather a difficult question.
= This question was rather difficult.

3/ rather than (not "quite than") = instead of.
Ex: I think I'll have a cold drink rather than coffee.


Bye
Van Khanh
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Joined: 24 Jul 2006
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Rather good vs. quite good Tue Jul 25, 2006 10:52 am  Rather good vs. quite good
 

Hi all,

I am totally agree with you about the use of "rather" and "quite" that you've mentioned.
I'd like to add something.

In general:
Quite (positive meaning), rather (negative meaning).
Ex: She's quite intelligent but rather lazy.

Besides:

1/ Quite + a/an +noun or quite +verb.
Ex: It's quite a nice day.
I quite like tennis.

2/ Rather + a/an +noun = rather + noun + a/an
Ex: It was a rather difficult question.
= It was rather a difficult question.
= This question was rather difficult.

3/ rather than (not "quite than") = instead of.
Ex: I think I'll have a cold drink rather than coffee.


Bye
Van Khanh
Van Khanh
I'm here quite often ;-)


Joined: 24 Jul 2006
Posts: 324
Location: Ho Chi Minh-City, Viet Nam

Endless saga… Thu Jul 27, 2006 12:34 pm  Endless saga…
 

Just to add…

Van Khanh wrote:
Rather + a/an +noun = rather + noun + a/an
Ex: It was a rather difficult question.
= It was rather a difficult question.
= This question was rather difficult.

rather a
a rather

Quote:
Before an unmodified noun only rather a is used: It was rather a disaster. When the noun is preceded by an adjective, however, both rather a and a rather ( Shocked) are found: It was rather a boring party. It was a rather boring party. When a rather is used in this construction, rather qualifies only the adjective, whereas with rather a it qualifies either the adjective or the entire noun phrase. Thus a rather long ordeal can mean only “an ordeal that is rather long,” whereas rather a long ordeal can also mean roughly “a long process that is something of an ordeal.” Rather a is the only possible choice when the adjective itself does not permit modification. Thus we say The horse was rather a long shot but not The horse was a rather long shot.

to be continued…
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Posts: 1577
Location: UK

Quite Thu Jul 27, 2006 15:19 pm  Quite
 

To complicate matters a bit more, stress can alter the meaning of 'quite':

I found the novel quite captivating => I found the novel captivating, but not too captivating.

I found the novel quite captivating => I found the novel really very captivating.
Conchita
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Joined: 26 Dec 2005
Posts: 2702
Location: Madrid, Spain

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