As the years dragged on

[keannu]

1. What does "As the years dragged on" mean? "During the years that the following things happend" or "After many years passed"? The translation goes the latter, but "as" is usually "when, while, over time", so "after" seems awkward.

2. "Went to a college" seems to means "enter a college", then how can you tell "enter a college" from "go to a college for learning"? How do you say "go to college during semesters for learning after entering it"?

st146
ex)... The Boy kept sending stories and Gabe kept helping until the letters became more like two friends getting each other's comments on a work than a famous author helping out a little kid. As the years dragged on, he went to a college with a good writing program and wrote stories for the school paper, but always wrote to Gabe. After graduation, he got married young, became a well-known author himself and always wrote to Gabe...

[shannico]

IMO as the years dragged on conveys an idea of time slowly going by = as the years went by slowly.
To me he went to college means he started and attended college until he graduated. If you notice the next step is graduation.
Hope it helps.

1. What does "As the years dragged on" mean? "During the years that the following things happend" or "After many years passed"? The translation goes the latter, but "as" is usually "when, while, over time", so "after" seems awkward.

2. "Went to a college" seems to means "enter a college", then how can you tell "enter a college" from "go to a college for learning"? How do you say "go to college during semesters for learning after entering it"?

st146
ex)... The Boy kept sending stories and Gabe kept helping until the letters became more like two friends getting each other's comments on a work than a famous author helping out a little kid. As the years dragged on, he went to a college with a good writing program and wrote stories for the school paper, but always wrote to Gabe. After graduation, he got married young, became a well-known author himself and always wrote to Gabe...

[keannu]

Molto grazie, pero mia domanda e differente un poco..Scusa..
Thanks a lot! But I was trying to know if "as the years" happened before or duiring the following events.
And how to tell "going to college for studying" from "enter a college".

[SoothingDave]

"Went to a college" seems to means "enter a college", then how can you tell "enter a college" from "go to a college for learning"? How do you say "go to college during semesters for learning after entering it"?

We don't "enter" college in AmE, we go to college. I am not sure what is confusing you. When we say "he went to college in Boston," we mean he was accepted for studies, went there for a number of years, and (usually, unless context contradicts) graduated." We don't mean only he physically was on the campus of a college.

[keannu]

Okay, thanks a lot! What about the first question? Is it during or before the events? I mean "as the years..."

[SoothingDave]

During. All of those events happened as time passed, as it seemed to him, slowly.

[keannu]

Thanks a lot!!! It might bug you, but how do you say "enter a college" in a different way if it doesn't make sense? Maybe "He was accepted by Harvard"?

[SoothingDave]

Yes, we say someone is "accepted" by a certain college. But, from then on, we simply say they are "going" to college while they are enrolled there studying and "went" to college after they graduate/leave.

That someone "went" to a college means that they must have been accepted. It's not normally necessary to say that someone was accepted, enrolled, studied, and graduated. In most cases just saying "He went to Harvard" is sufficient to incorporate all of those actions.

[shannico]

Prego. No problem.

Molto grazie, pero mia domanda e differente un poco..Scusa..
Thanks a lot! But I was trying to know if "as the years" happened before or duiring the following events.
And how to tell "going to college for studying" from "enter a college".