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#2 (permalink) Wed Jul 23, 2008 18:57 pm no more of a quality than |
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Yes. She was no more than four. She may have been 2, 3, 3 1/2, or 3 and 11 months, and maybe even 4, but she was not MORE than 4.
We'll be there no later than 8. We may be there at 5, 6, 7, 7:55, or even 8, but not 8:10. |
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Barb_D I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 13 Jun 2008 Posts: 474
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#3 (permalink) Thu Jul 24, 2008 1:20 am no more of a quality than |
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| Barb_D wrote: |
She was no more than four. She may have been 2, 3, 3 1/2, or 3 and 11 months, and maybe even 4, but she was not MORE than 4.
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I think this is tricky. When it comes to age, the number is ambiguously applied. e.g. She is four years old could cover a range from 4 years to 4 and 11 months of time after her birth at least on the daily conversation level. So, de facto She was no more than four could well mean She had not reached 5.
| Barb_D wrote: |
| We'll be there no later than 8. We may be there at 5, 6, 7, 7:55, or even 8, but not 8:10. |
I think this is right when it refers to time, especially in high pressure society among developed countries. |
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Haihao I'm a Communicator ;-)
Joined: 26 Oct 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: Japan
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#4 (permalink) Thu Jul 24, 2008 8:48 am no more of a quality than |
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Dear Barb_D and Haihao,
I appreciate your help and comments.
So "no more" in (1) means "not more (meaning the same or less)."
I wonder if it is also possible to interpret "no more" as "the same," especially when attention centers on the fact that "a chicken" in its example sentence is actually very small.
Some native speakers understand (2a) means (2b)?
(2) a. Some species of dinosaur were no bigger than a chicken. b. Some species of dinosaur were the same size as a chicken.
Seiichi MYOGA |
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Seiichi Myoga I'm new here and I like it ;-)
Joined: 02 Jul 2008 Posts: 41
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| across vs over | "start off" vs "start up" |