Comprehension

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing at immense length, they just plume on themselves their success as conversationist.

The sentence means: They said something during the evening but they didn't say something in detail and they are somewhat proud of themselves for doing so which is a success as a conversationist. Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang

[RonBee]

You are partly right. While they talked at length, they didn't say anything meaningful, or worth remembering. They did, however, congratulate themselves on their conversational skills. (The word conversationist should be plural: conversationists.)

:)

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing at immense length, they just plume on themselves their success as conversationist.

The sentence means: They said something during the evening but they didn't say something in detail and they are somewhat proud of themselves for doing so which is a success as a conversationist. Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang

The sentence would be better as:

At the end of an evening during which they have discussed nothing at length, they just plume themselves on their success as conversationists.

Your understanding is very good. They had a routine conversation and were overly impressed with their conversational skills. :wink:

[jiang]

:D
Thank you very much for your explanation.
Jiang

Originally Posted by jiang

Dear teachers,

Please read the following sentence:

At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing at immense length, they just plume on themselves their success as conversationist.

The sentence means: They said something during the evening but they didn't say something in detail and they are somewhat proud of themselves for doing so which is a success as a conversationist. Am I right?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you in advance.

Have a nice weekend.

Jiang

[jiang]

:D
Thank you very much for your explanation. And thank you very much for your kind comment. I am very glad to hear that.

I once looked over all the posts I sent you and happy to find that my understanding has improved a lot now compared with the beginning. That is, by reading your explanations I think I understand you better. However, there is a long way to improve my understanding.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

The sentence would be better as:

At the end of an evening during which they have discussed nothing at length, they just plume themselves on their success as conversationists.

Your understanding is very good. They had a routine conversation and were overly impressed with their conversational skills. :wink:

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

:D
Thank you very much for your explanation. And thank you very much for your kind comment. I am very glad to hear that.

I once looked over all the posts I sent you and happy to find that my understanding has improved a lot now compared with the beginning. That is, by reading your explanations I think I understand you better. However, there is a long way to improve my understanding.

Best wishes,

Jiang

Jiang, I have been on language forums for many years. You are about the most serious strudent I have ever encountered. You get better each day and are a pleasure to teach. :wink:

[jiang]

:)
Thank you very much for your comment. I feel flattered.

I worked harder than others because, I guess, the others are better than I am in English. What I don't understand they understand. So I asked more questions than they do. I hope one day I only ask you very good questions instead of some silly ones, which will prove I am really a good student.

Have a nice weekend.


Jiang

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

Jiang, I have been on language forums for many years. You are about the most serious strudent I have ever encountered. You get better each day and are a pleasure to teach. :wink:

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by jiang

:)
Thank you very much for your comment. I feel flattered.

I worked harder than others because, I guess, the others are better than I am in English. What I don't understand they understand. So I asked more questions than they do. I hope one day I only ask you very good questions instead of some silly ones, which will prove I am really a good student.

Have a nice weekend.


Jiang

Every person progresses at his/her own rate. In the end, it may be the person who asks the most questions who gains the deeper understanding. :wink: