Expression: 'His statement remains less...'

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please analyse the bold part to me?

1-His statement remains less than accurate without some qualification.

Tom

[Alan]

Hi Tom,

This is a sort of understatement and it's also confusing. Less than accurate is a roundabout way of saying 'inaccurate'. This then becomes 'inaccurate without some qualification'. 'Without some qualfication' suggests if you remove a little reservation about the inaccuracy. You end up with something like this; It is not wholly accurate.

I'm not really happy with this but that's my first reaction.

A
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Conditionals

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Here's my version:

The main idea is: His statement is not completely accurate.

His statement could be made completely accurate if something is added that modifies or restricts (qualifies) the statement in some way.

For example:

- Amy understands Spanish. --> This is accurate, but not in all situations

- Amy can usually understand simple Spanish. --> 'usually' and 'simple' are both qualifications and make the sentence completely accurate.

Amy
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Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Pond969]

Tom .... the writer means that he is not preapred to accept the truth of the statement in question without some futher evidence.