what's the meaning of the following sentence?

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pano3x

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Dear Sir/Madam,

I can't understand the meaning of the sentence 'Her work was well below average for the class'. Could you please explain it in another easy way?

Thank you so much.
 

easybreakable

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"Average" also means: "standard level which considered to be usual or normal".

So when they say: "Her work was well below average for the class", it means that "Her work was well, but still less than the expected in comparison with her other colleagues".
 

Raymott

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"Average" also means: "standard level which considered to be usual or normal".

So when they say: "Her work was well below average for the class", it means that "Her work was well, but still less than the expected in comparison with her other colleagues".
No it doesn't. "Well below" doesn't mean "well" and "below". It means "very much below".
"Her work is of a standard very much below the average for the class."

PS: If a chicken is well cooked, it doesn't mean that the chicken is both cooked and well.
 

TheParser

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Dear Sir/Madam,

I can't understand the meaning of the sentence 'Her work was well below average for the class'. Could you please explain it in another easy way?

Thank you so much.


NOT A TEACHER


(1) Mr. Smith has a class of 40 students studying Mandarin Chinese.

(2) When you add up all the marks of the 40 students, the average mark is

"B." (In the United States, A = outstanding or super; B = very good; C = good or

OK; D = pretty bad, but you get credit; Fail = so bad that you must repeat the class.)

(3) Well, her work was a D. As you can see, if the average mark in Mr. Smith's class

was B, and she earned only a D, then we can say that she was "well below average"

(very below average). If her mark had been C, then we might say that her work was

"below average," but not "well" (very).
 

easybreakable

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How tricky!

That is totally different understanding, thank you for correcting me, Raymott.
 

pano3x

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Thank you a lot for your interesting and helpful explanation.
 

TheParser

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NOT A TEACHER


(1) I have just found another example that may help you better understand this

use of "well."

(2) During World War 1 (1914 - 1918), many men from China went to Europe in order

to work. They worked in factories or they dug the trenches (something like long

tunnels that were open to the sky. The soldiers lived in the trenches).

(a) Here is a sentence from the article that I read:

Well over a hundred thousand Chinese men were dispatched [sent] to France.

(i) Over a hundred thousand = a few more than a hundred thousand.

(ii) Well over a hundred thousand = Many more than a hundred thousand.
 

pano3x

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Thank TheParser, it's useful to a newbie like me.
 
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