Are these sentences correct and if they are what do they mean?
Won’t you stay for dessert, if not for coffee?
I’m glad to see your father had your teeth fixed, if not your tongue.
It’s pretty, if not actually beautiful.
We stayed at a very beautiful hotel, if not a five-star hotel.
I would like to know what the ‘if not’ means in these sentences.
“A, if not B” is inherently ambiguous. It may mean that B is false, but it may also mean that B is probably true (and surpasses A), or that the speaker wants to suggest it might be true. The only way to tell is from context, from the nature of A and B, and, in spoken English, possibly from the intonation.
“Won’t you stay for dessert, if not for coffee?” could mean either that it’s known the person won’t stay for coffee but they may stay for dessert, or that the person may stay for dessert, and, on top of that, stay for coffee.
“I’m glad to see your father had your teeth fixed, if not your tongue” seems certain to mean that the father didn’t fix the person’s tongue (figuratively speaking, of course).
“It’s pretty, if not actually beautiful.” In this case the word “actually” makes it likely that the speaker is saying the thing is not beautiful. Sorry, I keep changing my mind about this. I think it’s just ambiguous. It could mean the speaker thinks it’s not actually beautiful, or is suggesting it is beautiful.
“We stayed at a very beautiful hotel, if not a five-star hotel.” Because the person speaking presumably knows for sure whether it was a five-star hotel, and is therefore not likely to be suggesting that it might be, this probably means it wasn’t five-star.
Hi Dozy, thanks for your explanation. I read that you are a native speaker. What you’ve written here, is exactly what other natives in my country told me. To me you are the expert par excellence. I print out every post and I keep it safely in a binder. Yours is also in it.
Alex
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Hi Alexandaro !
I feel wonder last time you said ‘goodbye’ us but it seems you have come back ------this is also good -what is the connotation ?--------between going hurriedly and coming back hurriedly —we the mass members in the forum ,would humbly like to know . Never mind , Alex.
Hi Tshirtshoppingkoreanlab
The answer is quite simple: ‘I changed my mind’ and everyone has the right to change their mind. So you see, I come and I go whenever it pleases me and I stay where ever it pleases me. So, that is my humble answer.
May ask you humbly now, why you finished your post with ‘Never mind, Alex’?
I think it is much more polite gesture whenever you like to imply something that is bored . It is much good avoiding chaos also .
Could you speak English please?
What do you think without speaking charisma I obtained 611 in TOEFL and 7 in IELTS ? That time (pls.see , my posting ‘Let the grammar be hanged’ )TOEFL pbt format had only ,listening, reading and grammar structure and essay . But during my 1st year university level I could speak English fluently .
I am not boasting about this but that is fact ,Also , you can be . How ? First ,increase your vocabulary as many as . And then just start speaking with you are(assume) ‘A’ and ‘B’ ,never think your speaking is going to grammatically wrong ----- this is the first hurdle (mind it)-you need fluency first –then Grammar.
-Gradually you will find a tempo of fluency has come up , then try with your friend who would not mock you ------the train will now on the trail --going on . If you have foreigner friends who are not native , you can make conversation more freely and watch regular basis CNN , for observing accent and way of talking -better follow American as they are now dominating the whole economy and so on .Never think movies English is almost correct but follow to only the accent, how they talk .
But remember when you meet a Thailander/Ukarian his/her accent must be the same way -like Thai accent English , this time you should be very careful as I and
my other friends faces several times with immigration officer /taxi driver /Hotel clerk etc.
Now your speaking is quite ok but sometime Grammar is not correct ,be cautious , you will see ;this problem will be going gradually as it is your writing matter which is the most hardest not speaking .
Finally , nowhere like TOEFL or IELTS follows the perfect speaking in Grammar as because this is not polite norm whenever you are speaking; people would stop you again and again , implying -what are you saying ??? That not an acceptable norm (even among with native speakers) except opposite one is your dire friend . So , go man and speak fluently as this way you can make good impression very faster to every where !
This site’s grammar exercises are very affluent than that any other site , you people are good that is why I am here .
Hi Alex. !
Another important point I must draw here we some friends are with ‘Korean lab .’ ( Non profit an English language research firm in Dhaka)
We have been observing a communication gap between native and non native speakers in English language teaching . We are seriously thinking how to reduce this- gradually .
A practical joke ----in an English class (in New York), non native kids were listening the lecture by a native female teacher ,suddenly a kid crying out and indicating through the window ‘Oh ! a boid , a boid ! Teacher understood and refreshed
‘No, it is not a ‘boid ‘ , it is a ‘Bird ‘
That kid was so surprised and murmured ‘Oh ! its looks like a boid ! ‘
And somewhere somebody can not pronounce ‘R’ instead ,say ‘L’ so he says in the restaurant ----Give me some’ flied lice ‘, instead of ‘ Fried rice ‘! Or at
a butcher shop –give me one kilo ‘kidly ‘ instead ‘kidney ‘
We must count these situation whenever some try to teach English to different race , culture ,language people etc otherwise ---------chaos definitely will be occurred .
Hi T-shirt,
I can’t answer this, since your English is absolutely hideous, I’m sorry to say so. It’s not meant as an insult, but I think the experts on this forum will certainly agree with me.
I’m sorry
Alexandro
Hmmm ! Point taken --------another ‘beating about the bush !’ I don’t like to treat you only Jhon Q. public .
That is why , humbly sorry , I consider it unwise to comment at this moment ,but I must leave it to our other sagacious members judgment to think whether you are wrong or not ; good bye only from you .
(editing 22 hours later :To whom this may concern and to our all general members if pertinent )
P.S. We must read or have knowledge about the 'Cross culture research ’ subject ,particularly whom we are engaged with cosmopolitan society . Reaction comes because of cultural shock -e.g. when a US native shows a ‘Thumb’ each other happily in their society ; it is seriously offensive in ‘Indian’ society specifically to Muslims or hand shake with male to female is common phenomena in Western world but in Asia ,some society it denies , a red color ; meaning different country to country etc,etc. That is why we all society prefer 'Knowledge ’ and as 'Hitler ’ was an illiterate one he had no idea about these and that ----result ----he created ‘chaos’ in the world . Sorry, anybody feels filthy but as I have been obseving this nice site since 6 months a freelancer , I am saying something for developing ourselves .
Really, I don’t understand what you mean. Would you please ask someone else, after all, you’re posting these messages in a thread that I created. So every time I notice that another message has been posted in this thread I react. Well, I will not do so anymore, unless you write something that I can understand. Your English seems to be some sort of code. Pleaaaaaaaase, stop it! It’s driving me crazy.
Alexandro.