What does it mean??

[EEL]

Hello..

I am a bit confused with the following sentence.

"Please activate your account by making a transaction at any ABC ATMs or 5 shared ABC ATMs in Australia. "

Does any ABC ATMs refer to ABC ATMs anywhere in the world or any of that which is in Australia? How do I understand such sentences?

Thanks in advance.

[Route21]

Hi EEL

As a NES, but not a teacher, and reading it at face value, I would read "any ABC ATM's" as meaning "any ABC ATM's" - full stop!

That having been said, I'm not sure of the numbers and locations, if any, of ABC ATM's outside Australia. Maybe one of the Aussies on the forum might be able to help on that side.

Hope this helps
R21

[Raymott]

Hello..

I am a bit confused with the following sentence.

"Please activate your account by making a transaction at any ABC ATMs or 5 shared ABC ATMs in Australia. "

Does any ABC ATMs refer to ABC ATMs anywhere in the world or any of that which is in Australia? How do I understand such sentences?

Thanks in advance.

It doesn't make sense.
Most ATMs in Australian are operated by a single bank, but some ATMs are shared - you can use a card from several different banks in the one ATM. There's probably 5 such shared ATMs in Australia that serve ABC.
It would appear to mean that you can activate your account at any ATM that services ABC bank. That is the most likely meaning from a commonsense viewpoint.

[Barb_D]

I agree that's the common sense interpretation, but the way it's written, doesn't it sound like "any 1 ABC ATM" or "all 5 shared ATMs"?

[Raymott]

I agree that's the common sense interpretation, but the way it's written, doesn't it sound like "any 1 ABC ATM" or "all 5 shared ATMs"?

Yes it does. But what's the likelihood you'd need to visit each shared ATM in Australia, given that they are likely to be in different cities, just to get your account activated? That's what I meant by "It doesn't make sense".

As usual, it would be useful to know the provenance of the sentence, and some context. For example, is ABC a variable for a Japanese Bank? Is the advice written in Japan (by a non-English representative of ABC bank?), etc.

[Barb_D]

Yes it does. But what's the likelihood you'd need to visit each shared ATM in Australia, given that they are likely to be in different cities, just to get your account activated? That's what I meant by "It doesn't make sense".

Oh, I agree with you completely!

[Tdol]

I understand it as referring to ABC ATMs in Australia and the 5 shared ones there too. If it meant any ABC ATM worldwide, then I would say any ABC ATM- the plural makes me think it all refers to Australia, so I wouldn't try to activate it abroad.