Hi,
I’ve heard from my friend that there is also some usages of the word understand besides “understand something” or “understand that…”, which are “understand + to V” and “understand + gerund”.
Could you please specify for me?
Thanks a lot
Nessie
Hi Nessie,
Did your friend give you any examples?[YSaerTTEW443543]
TOEIC listening, photographs: An artist at work[YSaerTTEW443543]
Hi Nessie,
All I can think is that your friend might have meant the following:
She understands how to deal with problems like these.
I can understand your (you) wanting to buy this one.
Does this help?
Alan
No Torsten, he just told me his teacher told him so, and I think that structure is so weird, so I post it here to see about your idea.
So the structure really doesn’t exist?
And by the way, do you mean it’s also ok for us to say “I can understand you wanting to buy this one”, Alan?
Many thanks, Alan and Torsten
Nessie 
Yes.
Alan
Here are a few examples:
“It’s hard to know your enemy when you don’t speak his language. In Iraq, when guerrillas place an IED (improvised explosive device) by the side of the road, they sometimes write a warning on the street – in Arabic. The locals understand to steer clear; the Americans drive right into the trap. " Everyone knows about it except us, " grouses Lt. Julio Tirado of the 124th Infantry Regiment, Florida National Guard, patrolling warily in the town of Ramadi.”
Newsweek 2003
…
“It takes actors who really understand to communicate the humanity behind the procedures. " I actually had to take them through a training program, " says Baz,”
Christian Science Monitor 2003
This is a little different:
“But quite frankly, I can not understand to save my life how anybody could have supported hearings on whether the Ayatollah and…”
Ind_Limbaugh / 19940617
Other construct:
“I didn’t understand feeling unattractive, like I overheard other women at my kids’ school complain about. My body and hair were in good enough shape and my makeup was in some evidence.” Acting out: a novel
…
“And who would understand leaving a war hero, anyway? When dinnertime finally came they stopped along the road at a caf, the children running around outside like it wasn’t boiling hot and even the baby walking in circles, picking up sand and rocks and clutching them in her hands.” New England Review 2007
…
“But I don’t understand you. And I don’t think I ever understood Lucy. I don’t understand throwing it away. How do you throw all that away?”
Anniversary Party, The
Source:
Hi Molly
To me
that sounds incomplete and I want to say: how to steer clear or that they have to stay clear. Again
to me cries out for ‘how to’.
Alan
Well, those are native-speaker examples, Alan, so I guess some prefer to omit “how to” in certain registers.
An example from Faulkner:
“Wonder if I can get him and then land right quick. Then they may pass me up. Think maybe I’m one of them in a stolen ship if I shoot a British ship down. But what about the rest of the crew in the bomber? I might have made them understand to go back but now I wont have time for any maneuvering, or signaling.”
Anything “missing” there, for you?
Houston Chronicle:
'"I’m trying to get them to understand to pass the ball and create space for the other person. " One thing that could help the situation: Kukoc is left-handed and Pippen is right-handed. ’
Could this be a “new” use?
Hi Molly,
It all depends on the context. Isn’t it great that native speakers like Alan are as kind as to help you with their ‘native-speaker examples’?
Agree
Hi Ralf
You know, that sounds a bit as if you have elected yourself to be the Great Decider – i.e the one decides who may or may not ask questions and what the questions are permitted to be.
.
Hi Molly
I would agree with what Alan said with regard to “understand to steer clear”. While I don’t think it sounds “incomplete” per se, I do think that something is understood but not specifically said – i.e. “understand (that it is necessary) to steer clear”.
I would suggest that the parsing is not what you thought in these sentences:
-
“It takes actors who really understand to communicate the humanity…”
This is a very commonly used sentence format:
“It takes X to do Y”.
In your sentence X = actors who really understand -
“I can not understand [to save my life] how anybody could have supported…”
To me, the “to save my life” means the same as “at all” or “for the life of me” in the sentence. So, I think you should parse it separately.
As for sentences containing “understand+gerund”, I can’t imagine anyone arguing about that possibility. That would be basically the same as “understand+noun”, wouldn’t it?
I can’t understand crying over spilled/spilt milk.
.
Indeed it is.
I agree also. There’s lots of things left unsaid in English.
I did:
“But quite frankly, I can not understand to save my life how anybody could have supported hearings on whether the Ayatollah and…”
Hi Amy,
As much as I’d love to understand your comment, my instincts fail me on this matter. What on earth made you think I’d possibly want to permit or prohibit questions :?:
However, I don’t feel like having pointless debates about that type of nonsense.
I’d much rather like to tell you that I feel obliged to express my deepest and sincerest respect for your constant and untiring efforts to help learners of English and your devotion to the course of (American) English as such.
It’s good to have you around, Amy.
However, this kind of nonsense is OK, right?
Of course, Molly, because it’s well-meant as well. Modesty will speed your wings :lol:
May I suggest you keep your wellmeantness for others?