So, I motioned that I was about to run and jump off the stage and the students down there should catch me. So, I made the motions several times to make sure that everybody understand me.
First, could I use "jump down from the stage" to replace the part in bold without making a change in meaning?
Second, is made the gesture equalent to the underlined part in meaning? Thanks.
You could use "jump down from the stage" without changing the meaning, but unless there was also the possibility of jumping up from the stage and having students catch you there would be no reason to say the more wordy "jump down from....".
'made the gestures' would be equivalent.
Thanks, 2006, for your clear and helpful reply.
As a small aside, does "jump from the stage" sounds equally good?
No, for the meaning of jumping down from the stage, "jump off the stage" sounds better to me. "jump from the stage" carries some possibility of jumping from the stage onto something else on the stage or near the stage.
Say, 'does "jump from the stage" sound.....?', not sounds".
Got it! Thanks again, 2006.