too old or old enough?

Status
Not open for further replies.

forinfo

Junior Member
Joined
May 1, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
Hi,

If a sentence reads "I'm old to travel alone," does it mean that
"I'm old enough to travel alone" or "I'm too old to travel alone"?

Or would its meaning depend on the context?
 

Raymott

VIP Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2008
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
English
Home Country
Australia
Current Location
Australia
Hi,

If a sentence reads "I'm old to travel alone," does it mean that
"I'm old enough to travel alone" or "I'm too old to travel alone"?

Or would its meaning depend on the context?
It's not a good sentence, and doesn't mean either. Where did you find that sentence?
I think there's a word missing.

Within the right context, a sentence like "You are old to be travelling alone" would mean "You look like you are too old to travel alone". But one wouldn't say it of oneself in this way.
 

emsr2d2

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 28, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
I think the problem is having "old" on its own. I might expect to hear "I'm kind of old to travel alone", "I'm a little (or a bit) old to travel alone" or certainly "I'm too old to travel alone" but by having no modifier in front of "old" it's very unnatural.
 

forinfo

Junior Member
Joined
May 1, 2008
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
Thank you for your responses to my question. They were helpful. :-D
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top