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Originally Posted by CuriousT Quote: |
Originally Posted by RonBee Quote: |
Originally Posted by CuriousT If you say something like the following:
(1) Her critics have yet to describe her as the anti-Christ
it means "her critics haven't described her as the anti-Christ yet", doesn't it? | Yes. They haven't done so. It's possible that they will, but, of course, they might not. Quote: |
Originally Posted by CuriousT If you have "no one" instead as the subject as in the following:
(2) No one has yet to describe her as the anti-Christ
doesn't it mean "there is no one who hasn't described her as the anti-Christ yet," i.e., "everyone has described her as the anti-Christ"? | Not quite. You've got it the wrong way around. Nobody ("No one") has described her that way, and they might never do so. | Hmmm. This is more complicated than I thought....
Let's see if I understood you correctly.
So for you, does (1) mean (3), to be more exact?
(3) Her critics may describe her as the anti-Christ in the future (implication: they haven't done so). |
Yes. Yes, it's possible. It hasn't happened yet, but it is possible.
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Originally Posted by CuriousT Then, (2) means (4)?
(4) No one may describe her as the anti-Christ in the future (implication: no one has done so.)
If this is a correct understanding of your points, (4) does not seem to fit in the original context, though, does it? I may be confused....
CuriousT |
"No one may" carries the meaning of
no one is allowed to or
no one is permitted to. (Used in the positive,
may means something similar to
might. Used in the negative,
may has to do with denial of permission. (It also has to do with the giving of permission in certain contexts. Example: "Q: May I go outside? A: Yes, you may?"))
What you should keep in mind is that
2 means the same thing as
1 or
3.
(I hope I have all those numbers right in my head. :wink: )
:)