[Grammar] Guilty about her treatment of her family

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angelene001

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She is guilty about her treatment of her family.

Does it mean:
1. She is ashamed and sad because of the way she treats her family.
or
2. She is ashamed and sad because of the way her family treats her.
 

Gillnetter

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She is guilty about her treatment of her family.

Does it mean:
1. She is ashamed and sad because of the way she treats her family.
or
2. She is ashamed and sad because of the way her family treats her.
There is no mention of sadness in the text. Don't add anything that is not in the text. "her treatment" refers to the manner is which she treats her family.
 

Raymott

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She is guilty about her treatment of her family.
I know this isn't your sentence, but "She feels guilty ..." would be more natural.
"She is guilty of the mistreatment of her family."
"She feels guilty about her mistreatment of her family."
"to be guilty about something" doesn't sound right.
 

angelene001

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There is no mention of sadness in the text. Don't add anything that is not in the text. "her treatment" refers to the manner is which she treats her family.

I've found in the dictionary that "guilty about" means "feeling very ashamed and sad because you know that you have done something wrong." I thought that changing "guilty about" into just "ashamed" is not enough. Now I know that it is enough :)
 

angelene001

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I know this isn't your sentence, but "She feels guilty ..." would be more natural.
"She is guilty of the mistreatment of her family."
"She feels guilty about her mistreatment of her family."
"to be guilty about something" doesn't sound right.

It is from a book with reading exercises preparing to CPE exam.
 

Raymott

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It is from a book with reading exercises preparing to CPE exam.
That doesn't change my opinion. Many reading exercises don't sound as natural as they might.

In your post #4, "guilty about" can't mean ""feeling very ashamed and sad because you know that you have done something wrong."
"feeling guilty about" could mean that. This is important because your original sentence says "She is guilty about ..." That was my point.
You also can't change just "guilty about" for "ashamed"; it would have to be at least "ashamed about".
Do you have a reference for the dictionary?
 
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angelene001

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That doesn't change my opinion. Many reading exercises don't sound as natural as they might.

In your post #4, "guilty about" can't mean ""feeling very ashamed and sad because you know that you have done something wrong."
"feeling guilty about" could mean that. This is important because your original sentence says "She is guilty about ..." That was my point.
You also can't change just "guilty about" for "ashamed"; it would have to be at least "ashamed about".
Do you have a reference for the dictionary?

http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/guilty
 
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