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#2 (permalink) Thu Jun 02, 2011 15:05 pm Re: Am I correct at understanding following? |
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| Shaky wrote: |
1. I used to think that I had never been dumped - I always thought nobody got rid of me. 2. Why have I gained 20 pounds - Why I've bacame heavier for 9 kilograms 3. They mind-trick you - They play unfair game with your thoughts 4. So they do a soft pass - no idea 5. They got little lines they like to tell you - They try not to tell you clear truth 6. You get jumpy when you smoke - Smoking makes you excited and uncertain 7. That's where I got stuck - At this point I met difficulty to figure it out 8. a gym - room for making gymnastic exercises 9. We'll talk. We'll get in touch. - We will connect very often for having many conversations. 10. Love you - Some manner of greeting between two who are well acquainted. Not necessarily they love each other. 11. He asked me out - He invited me to date. 12. Hi, this is Connor, Anna's friend, or whatever. - ......., problems with - or whatever 13. You are gonna make a fortune. - You will get big benefits from doing this soon. 14. Did you have to put me with the massage ads? - no idea |
(1) Hello, I am new to this wonderful English helpline.
I notice that at other helplines, the teachers always tell us
to give CONTEXT. In other words, to tell us how a sentence
was used in a particular paragraph.
(2) May I try to discuss No. 14. This could mean many things
depending on the context. Who said what to whom. Where?
Why? etc.
(3) In any case, let me try a little.
(a) "massage ads" = advertisements in the newspapers for
massage parlors. Most "nice" newspapers in the United States
will not accept massage ads. Why? Because some massage
parlors are actually houses of prostitution. In this country,
prostitution is illegal. (Yes, I know that it is legal in many
countries.)
So the expression "Did you have to put me with the massage
ads?" could mean many things -- depending on the context.
For example, let's say that you advertised your restaurant
in a newspaper. When you opened the newspaper, you saw
that your ad was put next to some ads for massage parlors.
That would make you very angry.
Also -- depending on context!!! -- it could be something that
an angry girlfriend says to you. She might think that you are
not treating her with enough respect. She might think that
you are treating her as if she were working at one of those
massage parlors.
I'm sure there are other interpretations, but I cannot think of them -- without context.
I think that you get the idea. Let's see what others say.
Respectfully yours,
James |
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James M I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 15 May 2011 Posts: 573
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#3 (permalink) Thu Jun 02, 2011 15:11 pm Am I correct at understanding following? |
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| Thank you James for such wide explanation of number 14. Very helpful. |
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Shaky You can meet me at english-test.net

Joined: 28 Apr 2011 Posts: 68 Location: Ukraine
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#4 (permalink) Thu Jun 02, 2011 15:14 pm Am I correct at understanding following? |
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| Shaky wrote: |
| Thank you James for such wide explanation of number 14. Very helpful. |
You are very welcome. Thank you for the interesting question. |
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James M I'm here quite often ;-)
Joined: 15 May 2011 Posts: 573
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#5 (permalink) Thu Jun 02, 2011 15:49 pm Re: Am I correct at understanding following? |
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1. I used to think that I had never been dumped <-- Doesn't make much sense as it implies he had been dumped but didn't realise it. 'I used to think that no girlfriend/boyfriend had ended a relationship with me. 2. Why have I gained 20 pounds <-- Why have I become ... heavier (I'll take your word for the imperial - metric conversion!) 3. They mind-trick you - They play unfair game with your thoughts <-- YES 4. So they do a soft pass - no idea <-- I suspect it relates to American football... which means I have no idea either. 5. They got little lines they like to tell you - They try not to tell you clear truth <-- 'Lines' or 'lies'? lines: they have set expressions they like to use when they talk to you. 6. You get jumpy when you smoke - Smoking makes you excited and uncertain YES 7. That's where I got stuck - At this point I met difficulty to figure it out <-- That's where I had difficulty working out this problem and couldn't go any further with it, (or literally the person got wedged in a hole or opening). 8. a gym - room for making gymnastic exercises <-- Room or building for doing gymnastic exercises 9. We'll talk. We'll get in touch. - We will connect very often for having many conversations. <-- YES 10. Love you - Some manner of greeting between two who are well acquainted. Not necessarily they love each other. <-- YES 11. He asked me out - He invited me to date. <-- YES (on a date, not to a date). 12. Hi, this is Connor, Anna's friend, or whatever. - ......., problems with - or whatever <-- The speaker is not sure whether his relationship with Anna allows him to call her his friend. It's not grammatically correct. More like a 'youth culture' way of speaking, where anything can be 'or whatever'. 13. You are gonna make a fortune. - You will get big benefits from doing this soon. <-- yes, but 'gonna' should not be written unless you are reporting direct speech in a colloquial way. It is written 'going to' - even if it is said 'gonna' 14. Did you have to put me with the massage ads? - no idea[<-- Did you have to put my advert with the ads for massages (often considered to be 'seedy' as this is the sort of advert which may be placed by prostitutes/call girls). _________________ Cheers m' dears! |
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Beeesneees Language Coach

Joined: 08 Apr 2010 Posts: 20463 Location: UK, born and bred
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#6 (permalink) Thu Jun 02, 2011 16:40 pm Am I correct at understanding following? |
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2. I used "became" wrongly because "become" is proper as past participle 5. Yes - lines 11. To say truthfully first I wanted to put there at a date, but didn't guess anyway :) Respect , Beees |
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Shaky You can meet me at english-test.net

Joined: 28 Apr 2011 Posts: 68 Location: Ukraine
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| past unreal in movies | "reference letter" vs "recommendation letter" |