Tagged Questions

-1
votes
2answers
203 views

“Least expected” or “least unexpected”

When I was talking to my girlfriend, she mentioned an incident where one of her friends surprised her with a gift. She said something like that least unexpected ... after which we got into a debate ...
-1
votes
2answers
220 views

Usage of “no more” in a sentence

I would need help with the following sentence: It may be no more difficult to claim in words a feeling not felt than one that is. The “no more” is related to the whole sentence or just to the ...
0
votes
4answers
173 views

Austin fragment: “sane and undivorced”

for (Christian) marrying, it is essential that I should not be already married with a wife living, sane and "undivorced", and so on (Austin, 1962) If "undivorced" implies married, what does ...
0
votes
3answers
195 views

“Yet” to imply negative?

Yet few colleges and universities have taken sufficient account... Does the sentence above imply a negative/opposite meaning? e.g: Few colleges and universities haven't taken sufficient ...
0
votes
1answer
142 views

Please provide me correct interpretation of this sentence [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How does negation affect the use and understanding of “or” and “and” A's girlfriend doesn't like movies or Roses. What would be the correct ...
2
votes
4answers
655 views

What is the meaning of “ought not”?

Consider this example: A few strong branches over water reach for what they ought not reach. Which of the meanings comes closest to “ought not” in this sentence? Is it “doesn't have to”, “should ...
6
votes
6answers
421 views

Meaning of “No, yes …”

I'm not sure if this is something only Americans say, but it has confused me for a long time. If someone is asked a question why do some people respond with something like, "No, yes it was"? What does ...
3
votes
2answers
2k views

What exactly is meant by “This is not to say it's not a bad system”?

Someone on a forum wrote This is not to say it's not a bad system. With some context, This is not a component system. This is not to say it's not a bad system, but in this case you should be ...
2
votes
2answers
197 views

How does negation affect the use and understanding of “or” and “and”

I'm trying to make more sense of how negation effects how a sentence is parsed and understood if and's and or's are used within them. Pop quiz: You are trapped on a bus with a bomb going 50 MPH. You ...