Zompist Bboard Again

Neither. I do get 3 meanings out of it, but they are: I don't usually read books, but having read one recently, I read a book this month. This month, I read a book that I had read before. I don't usually read books, but I have read books. I read a book this month. The different meanings result in d...

... the (2) meaning is a little odd because the book should change definiteness... I think I know what you mean, but I think it seemingly can be unnecessary. E g. " I have read a book again this month. I've read it three times. It's book II of the Harry Potter series." (Well, the re-readi...

I was told that, without more text, the sentence " I read a book again this month " can seemingly have two meanings: 1) I read a book last month, and I read another this month. 2) I read a book last month, and I re-read the book this month. Q: Which interpretation comes to you first? I am ...

A simple question: Is there any subtle differences between 1.1 "that is" and 1.2 "that means"? Thank you.

My mother has got six children.
1.1 That is, I have three sisters and two brothers.
1.2 That means I have three sisters and two brothers.

I was just stating that I myself have never, ever heard * mayn't before Richard W mentioned it in this thread, that's all. Okay, it's not unusual for me to misunderstand an English passage, which Linguoboy can prove. And your explanation is indeed very helpful. XD. (Or I'll feel a bit guilty, too, ...

Raphael wrote: ↑Mon Sep 19, 2022 12:16 pm Not sure. My impression is that in your sample sentence, the speaker might want to avoid getting too much food.

Yes, you are right. I've understood better both "little" in English and "wenig" in German.

Again, thank you, Raphael.

* Mustn't is not part of my dialect either, but I am aware of its existence in other English varieties, unlike ... Travis, would you please delete the part after "unlike"? I think you've said it very clearly, and your opinion has been also supported by Kuchi. I guess you don't mean it, bu...

Okay, I think I've got it. I actually know nothing about it at all (; furthermore, it has been more than 40 years since I started learning English at the 7th grade :( Regarding that my listening is now still as poor as a high school student, I think I'd better, when necessary, choose to communicate ...

To begin with, thank you for your regular help, Raphael. To some extent, I'd say that with " wenig ", the focus is on the fact that you have little of the thing in question ... If so, the sentence doesn't make sense, does it? 2. Könntest du mir bitte nur wenig Essen geben? In the sentence,...

(Note that ‘need’ as an auxiliary verb is very rare in modern English, and almost always people will just say It never needs to change .) Except that 'need not' is not rare as an auxiliary, where it functions as one negative of 'must' and as one negative of 'may'; without abbreviation, writing does...

Q: What's the difference in German between " wenig + Uncountable noun" and " ein wenig + Uncountable noun"? E.g., Ich habe wenig Kaffee. Ich habe ein wenig Kaffee. Aber die beide Hände können nur wenig Wasser aufnehmen. Aber die beide Hände können nur ein wenig Wasser aufnehmen. ...

Thank you both, bradrn and Travis. I hope my another question here won't interrupt your discussion if it's still ongoing. This is about understanding/translating a German sentence. I suppose most of you understand basic German but I'll still explain. My question rises in understanding/translating &q...

A small question about "need". Is it grammatical to say
It never need change. (=It never needs to change.)

(I know it's grammatical to say
It needn't change.
I am unsure if it still works if the negating "not" is replaced with "never".)

Thank you.

An interesting detail here... Compare: Ich bin nach draußen gegangen, und es hatte schon da gelegen. (I went outside, and it had already been lying there in that exact place .) Ich bin nach draußen gegangen, und da hatte es schon (da) gelegen. (I went outside, and at that point in time it had been ...

Which of (the later part of) the six word orders are idiomatic? Thank you. 1. Ich trat nach draußen, und es hatte schon da gelegen. 2. Ich trat nach draußen, und es hatte da schon gelegen. 3. Ich trat nach draußen, und schon hatte es da gelegen. 4. Ich trat nach draußen, und schon hatte da es gelege...

I've found some interesting today. I don't know yet what I can ask here, so I just share what I've learned. 1. In English there are expressions of " all books " and " all of the books ". But in German there is only " alle Bücher ", without *"alle der Bücher". ...

With By adding two manual side doors, the design keeps the store cleaner. I've recalled a word that I couldn't find yesterday: flank. So, Q : how is the sentence? Flanked by manual doors, the added enclosure [on the front of the automatic door] turns the route and keeps the store cleaner. Q : Is &q...

Is the passage okay? Thank you in advance for your comments. The entrance of this convenience store had two layers of doors; or, according to the internet, the adjoining small space outside the automatic door had a terminology: a windbreak room . With adding two manual side doors, the design could k...

I've written a passage (as a writing exercise). Is there anything unnatural or ungrammaticall? Thank you. The young father arrived at the convenience store almost at the same time with as me. On his scooter he was carrying his two sons, both still pre-school pre-schoolers in age . As soon as the sco...

I see now. You just thought it was oddly specific because you wondered why I'd like to emphasize the two kids were pre-school, and there is no other sentences to show the need, although the expression was grammatical.