[Vocabulary] acquaintance - knowledge

[dilodi83]

I had a ...............(shaking- nodding - slight) acquaintance with such matters and had ...................(scant- slender- limited) knowledge of the subjects under review.

1) Can a native or an English teacher tell me if there are any differences among the following adjectives in this case?

2) What's the difference between "knowledge" and "acquaintance"? I cannot see any important differences between them in this sentence.

 

[5jj]

I had a ...............(shaking- nodding - slight) acquaintance with such matters and had ...................(scant- slender- limited) knowledge of the subjects under review.

1) Can a native or an English teacher tell me if there are any differences [STRIKE]among[/STRIKE] between the [STRIKE]following[/STRIKE] adjectives in this case?
Practically none in this sentence, though we don't normally use 'shaking' with 'acquaintance'.

2) What's the difference between "knowledge" and "acquaintance"? I cannot see any important differences between them in this sentence.
There isn't much difference here, though 'acquaintance' suggests less knowledge than 'knowledge'.

5

 

[BobK]

:up: Perhaps the word is 'shaky' (although I suspect there's a stronger collocation with 'knowledge' or 'understanding' than with 'acquaintance' - I must check). 'Shaky' means more than just partial; it means partial and therefore unreliable.

b