Results 1 to 6 of 6
Like Tree4Likes
  • 1 Post By tedtmc
  • 1 Post By Ahmed Fadel
  • 1 Post By 5jj
  • 1 Post By emsr2d2

Thread: She rapidly gave me an answer.

  1. #1
    joham is offline Senior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Chinese
      • Home Country:
      • China
      • Current Location:
      • China
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    1,347

    Default She rapidly gave me an answer.

    She rapidly gave me an answer. (from: Quirk's Grammar)

    Which does the 'rapidly' mean, 'quickly' or 'soon', in this sentence?

    Thank you in advance.

  2. #2
    tedtmc is offline Key Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Interested in Language
      • Native Language:
      • Chinese
      • Home Country:
      • Malaysia
      • Current Location:
      • Malaysia
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    2,069

    Default Re: She rapidly gave me an answer.

    not a teacher

    quickly or instantly
    joham likes this.

  3. #3
    Ahmed Fadel is offline Newbie
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Arabic
      • Home Country:
      • Egypt
      • Current Location:
      • Egypt
    Join Date
    Dec 2011
    Posts
    4

    Default Re: She rapidly gave me an answer.

    Quote Originally Posted by tedtmc View Post
    not a teacher

    quickly or instantly
    I totally agree with Tedtmc.

    Note: I'm a learner.
    joham likes this.

  4. #4
    5jj's Avatar
    5jj
    5jj is online now Moderator
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • England
      • Current Location:
      • Czech Republic
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Posts
    17,003
    Teacher

    Default Re: She rapidly gave me an answer.

    Quote Originally Posted by joham View Post
    She rapidly gave me an answer. (from: Quirk's Grammar)
    Quirk et al produced several grammars. It would have been helpful if you had told us which one you were referring to.

    Which does the 'rapidly' mean, 'quickly' or 'soon', in this sentence?
    We need more context to be sure. It probably means 'instantly, without waiting'
    5
    joham likes this.
    Context is always important; labelling is rarely important.


  5. #5
    joham is offline Senior Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • Student or Learner
      • Native Language:
      • Chinese
      • Home Country:
      • China
      • Current Location:
      • China
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Posts
    1,347
    Threadstarter / Original Poster

    Default Re: She rapidly gave me an answer.

    Thank you a lot, 5jj. The sentence comes from Quirk's A COMPREHENSIVE GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, without any context.

  6. #6
    emsr2d2 is offline VIP Member
    • Member Info
      • Member Type:
      • English Teacher
      • Native Language:
      • British English
      • Home Country:
      • UK
      • Current Location:
      • UK
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    9,018
    Teacher

    Default Re: She rapidly gave me an answer.

    Quote Originally Posted by joham View Post
    She rapidly gave me an answer. (from: Quirk's Grammar)

    Which does the 'rapidly' mean, 'quickly' or 'soon', in this sentence?

    Thank you in advance.
    For me, there is some ambiguity. It could mean that she gave an answer instantly, straight after the question was asked, without any hesitation. It could also mean that when she gave the answer, she spoke rapidly, but she did not necessarily give the answer instantly.
    joham likes this.

Similar Threads

  1. [Grammar] who gave/was
    By xpert in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 28-Oct-2010, 00:24
  2. She gave me one of her looks
    By Progress in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 26-May-2007, 11:52
  3. gave / has given
    By kohyoongliat in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 17-Feb-2007, 08:51
  4. rapidly approaching
    By navi tasan in forum Ask a Teacher
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 06-Oct-2003, 23:34

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0