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#32
10-08-2007, 03:09 AM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] Will the Yankees be 1927 world champions on or before tomorrow? Yep. [/ QUOTE ] fyp [/ QUOTE ] You can be a champion forever, but 18 for only a year. Will the members of that team be 18 on or before tomorrow? There is a difference between the two, vague, but still a difference. |
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#34
10-08-2007, 03:37 AM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
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Will the members of that team be 18 on or before tomorrow? [/ QUOTE ] Yes. This is silly. |
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#35
10-08-2007, 03:58 AM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
I hate bumping this because it's off topic, but I would like a clear explanation as to why I am wrong.
I am 23 years old. Statement: I will be 18 on or before tomorrow. I read the term "will be" as referring to a future event. So, the statement, to me, means, "Between now and the end of the day tomorrow I will be 18". This statement is obviously false. Someone tell me why I'm wrong. Also, the statement can be broken down into two statements. 1. I will be 18 tomorrow. Obviously false. 2. I will be 18 before tomorrow. This is where the disagreement lies. I think this statement would have to be changed to "I will have been 18 before tomorrow" to be true. I swear I'm not a huge nit. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] |
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#37
10-08-2007, 04:35 AM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
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So, the statement, to me, means, "Between now and the end of the day tomorrow I will be 18". [/ QUOTE ] But that isn't what the statement says. It says "on or before tomorrow", not "between now and tomorrow" |
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#38
10-08-2007, 04:50 AM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
You're wrong because you're being a nit. Sort of.
The sentence in question is awkwardly constructed, but nonetheless manages to convey its meaning to anyone with a passing familiarity with the language. The meaning of the sentence isn't contained in the words themselves, but rather the ideas which the words represent. Don't get hung up thinking about the symbols, which are totally arbitrary (this advice applies to much more than just grammar, natch). Or, from a grammarians point of view, I could just point out that the sentence is ambivalent, not necessarily wrong. (This is the kind of answer you're looking for, I'm sure.) Focus on the phrase "18 before election day" and what that state-of-being describes, in a vacuum. If I point to myself right now and say the words "18 before election day," I am accurately describing something about myself. Now, instead of reading it like this: "I will" -- will what? -- "be 18 before election day." . . . read it like this: "I will be: 18 before election day." Does that make sense? I think it makes sense to me, but even I'm not 100% sure. |
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#39
10-08-2007, 11:36 AM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
[ QUOTE ]
I hate bumping this because it's off topic, but I would like a clear explanation as to why I am wrong. I am 23 years old. Statement: I will be 18 on or before tomorrow. I read the term "will be" as referring to a future event. So, the statement, to me, means, "Between now and the end of the day tomorrow I will be 18". This statement is obviously false. Someone tell me why I'm wrong. Also, the statement can be broken down into two statements. 1. I will be 18 tomorrow. Obviously false. 2. I will be 18 before tomorrow. This is where the disagreement lies. I think this statement would have to be changed to "I will have been 18 before tomorrow" to be true. I swear I'm not a huge nit. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] [/ QUOTE ] You walk into a liquor store. The clerk looks at you and asks "Are you 21?" Are the responses "No, I am 23" and "Yes, I am 21" equivalent for the purpose of the question? "Being" an age means having attained that age, not necessarily that you are still that age. |
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#40
10-08-2007, 03:51 PM
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Re: Only 18 year olds are allowed to vote in South Carolina
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ] So, the statement, to me, means, "Between now and the end of the day tomorrow I will be 18". [/ QUOTE ] But that isn't what the statement says. It says "on or before tomorrow", not "between now and tomorrow" [/ QUOTE ] It says "will be on or before tomorrow" this translates to "between now and tomorrow". WHen one says "what will be?" they are asking about the future. It's not hard to understand. You guys disagreeing suck at english. [ QUOTE ] "Being" an age means having attained that age, not necessarily that you are still that age. [/ QUOTE ] No it doesn't. Is the sun ten years old? I know some retard will come in here and quote that and say, yes. Is the United States 1 day old? Will it be 1 day old tomorrow? Being an age means you are currently that age, and haven't attained the next unit of age. Some of you are apparently completely unfamiliar with simple tense modifiers. If I say you are not being cool, does that mean you have never attained a state of cool!? No, it means you are not currently being cool. |
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