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 #2 (permalink) Tue Jun 05, 2007 15:18 pm Expressions: "in negative two minutes" and "5 minutes away& |
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| NinaZara wrote: |
Aren't you suppose to leave in negative two minutes?
Can I understand it as the person is already two minutes late? |
Yes, I would interpret that to mean "Weren't you supposed to leave two minutes ago?"
| NinaZara wrote: |
| Also, can I say, "I am 5 minutes away" for "I am 5 minutes early"? |
Without any other context, I would understand "I am five minutes away" to mean "I will arrive in five minutes". Or it may more generally mean that five minutes would be the amount of time required for the speaker to reach the listener's location.
I would not use it to mean "I am five minutes early".
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA
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| #3 (permalink) Tue Jun 05, 2007 15:43 pm Expressions: 'in negative two minutes' and '5 minutes away' |
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| Oh thanks, Amy. Crystal clear. |
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NinaZara
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Location: Malaysia (Cat city)
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| #4 (permalink) Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:53 am Expressions: 'in negative two minutes' and '5 minutes away' |
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Oh, how interesting these expressions are, Nina!
Just to hold a candle to the Sun, may I give some more thoughts on them?
| Quote: |
| Aren't you suppose to leave in negative two minutes? |
1. Is 'Aren't you suppose to leave in two negative minutes?' as good as or better than the original one?
2. How about: ''Aren't you suppose to leave in minus two minutes?'
| Quote: |
| "I am 5 minutes away" |
3. Other than motional context, could it also be static such as: I am five minites drive/walk away from Nina's. ?
Thank you!
Haihao |
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Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Japan
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| #5 (permalink) Sat Jun 09, 2007 5:19 am Expressions: 'in negative two minutes' and '5 minutes away' |
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| Haihao wrote: |
Oh, how interesting these expressions are, Nina!
Just to hold a candle to the Sun, may I give some more thoughts on them?
| Quote: |
| Aren't you supposed to leave in negative two minutes? (Sorry, I forgot to mention the missing 'd' in my first post.) |
1. Is 'Aren't you supposed to leave in two negative minutes?' as good as or better than the original one? Nina's original sentence was unusual, but the usual way to talk about a negative number is to say 'minus' or 'negative' first.
2. How about: ''Aren't you suppose to leave in minus two minutes?' Neither this sentence nor Nina's would be "typical" ways to ask "Weren't you supposed to leave two minutes ago?" so you run the risk of being misunderstood if you use them.
| Quote: |
| "I am 5 minutes away" |
3. Other than motional context, could it also be static such as: I am five minites drive/walk away from Nina's. ? Yes, that's what I meant in my first post when I said "... five minutes would be the amount of time required for the speaker to reach the listener's location".
Thank you!
Haihao |
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Yankee
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 16 Apr 2006
Posts: 8265
Location: USA
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| #6 (permalink) Sat Jun 09, 2007 6:15 am Expressions: 'in negative two minutes' and '5 minutes away' |
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| Thank you very much, Amy! |
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Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Japan
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| #7 (permalink) Sun Jun 10, 2007 3:55 am Expressions: 'in negative two minutes' and '5 minutes away' |
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Amy,
It is rather unsual, isn't it?(can I say "is it not?" here?)
I heard it on the TV series "Smallville". I thought it was cool and wanted to make sure I understand it correctly. Thanks!
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Haihao!
They are rather interesting, aren't they? Thank you for the thoughts. I guess you can say "negative/minus" first. But it is already an unsual expression, so making it more unsual is a little extreme, don't you think?(kidding!)
BTW, I am not so much "5 minutes away" from you any longer.
Take care and have a nice Sunday!
Nina |
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NinaZara
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Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 1165
Location: Malaysia (Cat city)
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Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Japan
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| #9 (permalink) Sun Jun 10, 2007 15:13 pm Expressions: 'in negative two minutes' and '5 minutes away' |
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Hi Haihao,
Yes, I don't hate them either  . Some of the scripts are very touching and full of advices too. There are always something that we can learn from younger people.
And Haihao, I am no longer in Kyushu. Yes, Fukuoka is definitely the biggest city in Kyushu. I miss Fukuoka, all my friends are over there.I even refer to Fukuoka as my "sato", Japanese laugh everytime I say this, well, it is true 
And I saw POTC 3(not 4,sorry for the misinformation), love it! POTC rocks! And Johnny Depp is hot as usual. I love him so much I can understand him eventhough he was slurring his words all the time, he was still intelligible to me. I even quoted him for my signature down there 
But I barely understood some of the characters, especially Calypso (one of the characters, just watch out for her if you're going to watch the movie, I think you'll understand what I mean) at all. I am planning to read its book so I can understand what the fuss is all about.
BTW, I am in mountainy Matsumoto, surrounded by the mountains, mountains everywhere I look and probably only 3 hours away from you. But I go down to Tokyo almost every two weeks, to hang out with my best friend. Next week is her turn to come up and see me
Nina |
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NinaZara
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 04 Jan 2007
Posts: 1165
Location: Malaysia (Cat city)
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Haihao
I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Japan
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