dated a man

Status
Not open for further replies.

navi tasan

Key Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
United States
1-I have dated a man in Boston and Los Angeles.
2-I dated a man in Boston and in Los Angeles.

In which case:
a-I dated the same man in both cities
b-I dated a different man in each city
c-I might have dated more than one man in either city


Gratefully,
Navi.
 

Grumpy

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
UK
Any one of your three cases could be inferred from either of your two sentences, although case "c" is slightly less probable, as it would more likely be phrased "dated men..".
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
1-I have dated a man in Boston and Los Angeles.
2-I dated a man in Boston and in Los Angeles.

I consider both these statements to be unnatural. I'd say:

'I have dated men in Boston and LA.'

'When I lived in the USA I dated men in Boston and LA.'

In both cases they have to be different men in different cities — maybe more than one man in each.

If you dated the same man in each city, you would have to say so.

'I (have) dated Brad Pitt in both Boston and LA.'

Rover
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
'I (have) dated Brad Pitt in both Boston and LA.'
The swine! He told me he was filming when he went there! Just wait till he gets home this evening.
 

navi tasan

Key Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2002
Member Type
Academic
Native Language
Persian
Home Country
Iran
Current Location
United States
Thank you very much Grumpy, Rover and 5jj.

Another related question:

A-I dated a man from 2005 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2010.


Would that imply that it was the same man?

B-I dated men from 2005 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2010.


Can this be used if I dated one man from 2005 to 2007 and another one from 2008 t0 2010?

Gratefully,
Navi.
 

5jj

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Oct 14, 2010
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
Czech Republic
Current Location
Czech Republic
A-I dated a man from 2005 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2010.

Would that imply that it was the same man?
Not necessarily.
B-I dated men from 2005 to 2007 and from 2008 to 2010.

Can this be used if I dated one man from 2005 to 2007 and another one from 2008 t0 2010?
That would not be the first thing I would infer.

If you want to get a particular message across, then you have to state explicitly what you want to say; for example,

"I dated one man from 2005 to 2007 and again from 2008 to 2010". Even that could be ambiguous - especially if you dated two men simultaneously from 2007 to 2008.

"I dated one man from 2005 to 2007, and the same man from 2008 to 2010". We don't know what you did from 2007 to 2008

"I dated one man from 2005 to 2007 and another from 2008 to 2010". We assume you knitted between 2007 and 2008; or perhaps dated a woman.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top