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Old 27-Jun-2003, 09:50
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navi tasan
Default ahead

Which of these sentences could mean that John overtook me:
1-John got ahead of me. (I think this one does mean that, and only that)
2-John moved ahead of me.
3-John ran ahead of me.
4-John walked ahead of me.
5-John went ahead of me.
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Old 27-Jun-2003, 13:12
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Default Re: ahead

Quote:
Originally Posted by navi tasan
Which of these sentences could mean that John overtook me:
1-John got ahead of me. (I think this one does mean that, and only that)
2-John moved ahead of me.
3-John ran ahead of me.
4-John walked ahead of me.
5-John went ahead of me.
If he overtook you that means that he came from behind you and caught up with you (and possibly passed you). None of the sentences says that. Also, the first sentence could be used figuratively.

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Old 27-Jun-2003, 19:42
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4&5 definitely suggest to me that he started ahead as if he were leading in some way.
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Old 27-Jun-2003, 22:41
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Originally Posted by tdol
4&5 definitely suggest to me that he started ahead as if he were leading in some way.
I agree. Perhaps: John passed me. That would impart the meaning of John having overtaken the other person.

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Old 28-Jun-2003, 20:16
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I think moved ahead could also imply overtaking- for example in queues side by side, or in terms of promotion.
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Old 28-Jun-2003, 21:40
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I don't think "move ahead" implies overtaking somebody else, but it has more to do with making progress toward a specific goal. ("Move ahead of" has a different meaning.)

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Old 28-Jun-2003, 22:31
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Sorry, I meant it with 'of', which is in the original example; I forgot to type it. ;-(
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Old 29-Jun-2003, 03:06
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I couldn't remember that far back. :wink:
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Old 29-Jun-2003, 12:13
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Default Re: ahead

Thanks, Ron Bee and TDOL.
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Old 29-Jun-2003, 13:06
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