without eating/having anything

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tzfujimino

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Hello, everyone.:-D

Please allow me to ask a silly question.

1. Kazuki got up late and hurried to the bus stop without eating anything.
2. Kazuki got up late and hurried to the bus stop without having anything.

Is it not possible to change 'eating' to 'having' and convey the same meaning?

I'm looking forward to your reply.
 

HanibalII

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Hello, everyone.:-D

Please allow me to ask a silly question.

1. Kazuki got up late and hurried to the bus stop without eating anything.
2. Kazuki got up late and hurried to the bus stop without having anything.

Is it not possible to change 'eating' to 'having' and convey the same meaning?

I'm looking forward to your reply.


It's possible, but not easy. It would require a good deal of background context. Specifically stating the person got up/dressed/grabbed his bag/brief case then left.

Otherwise, the reader will think he left home with nothing in his hands, rather than his stomach.

In my opinion, the two words are not interchangeable.
 

tzfujimino

Key Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2007
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English Teacher
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Japanese
Home Country
Japan
Current Location
Japan
It's possible, but not easy. It would require a good deal of background context. Specifically stating the person got up/dressed/grabbed his bag/brief case then left.

Otherwise, the reader will think he left home with nothing in his hands, rather than his stomach.

In my opinion, the two words are not interchangeable.


Thank you very much for your kind reply, HanibalⅡ.:-D
That (Your explanation) was my first guess.
Yes, the meaning of 'having' in the second sentence is ambiguous.

Thank you again.:-D
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
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You could use Kazuki got up late and hurried to the bus stop without having anything to eat.

 
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