[General] I cannot get the meaning

[dodonaomik]

:up:He was under the impression that Roberts had got the various contribution for nothing.



:?:Question： I asked some Chinese, but no one can translate the sentence.
In my understanding, Roberts got many kinds of contribution(some things or money) for no reason, but “the translation” made me feel very strange or weird, thus at last I cannot understand the sentence.



How to understand the sentence? What on earth is the meaning of for nothing?
Many thanks to dear teachers!!!

 

[Rover_KE]

It might mean 'for no reason' or 'without charge'/'free'.

 

[dodonaomik]

It might mean 'for no reason' or 'without charge'/'free'.

Thanks a lot!!! But I still feel puzzled.

In my opinion, Roberts may encountered a disaster or his family is really poor and so on, so he got contributions/help from others.
And if there was no reason, why could he get contributions from others?
It puzzled me... ... Is my opinion wrong? Or is the sentence too unimaginable?

 

[5jj]

It's impossible to say what happened without more context.

 

[Withania]

I think your interpretting it right.
It is a little confusing to me too.
I would think that it means Robert got help or a donation, and Robert did not have to give anything in return for receiving this donation.
[FONT=&quot]For example: If Robert encountered a disaster and as a result he was starving, people may give him free food and expect nothing in return (for nothing= he got food and did not have to pay for it).[/FONT]

 

[5jj]

I think [STRIKE]your[/STRIKE] you're interpret[STRIKE]t[/STRIKE]ing it [STRIKE]right[/STRIKE] correctly.

5

 

[Matthew Wai]

Question： I asked some Chinese, but no one can translate the sentence.

I can translate it into Chinese, but I don't know whether writing Chinese is in contravention of the forum rules.

 

[Rover_KE]

Click here to visit the Other Languages forum.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Dear dodonaomik,

I acknowledge receipt of your private message, but please click on the above link provided by the moderator and post a question there, then we can talk in Chinese in the Other Languages forum.

 

[Barb_D]

And if there was no reason, why could he get contributions from others?

It is unlikely that "for nothing" means "for no reason" here.
It is very likely that "for nothing" means "at no cost."

 

[Matthew Wai]

"for nothing" means "for free" here.

Not a teacher.

 

[5jj]

I can translate it into Chinese,

I don't see how you can translate it into Chinese when we are not really sure what it means in English.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Don't worry, I have some experience in translation because I am a voluntary translator for a non-profit online organization.

 

[5jj]

Don't worry, I have some experience in translation because I am a voluntary translator for a non-profit online organization.

It doesn't matter if we have the most experienced translator in the world. If we don't know exactly what something means in one language, we cannot translate it meaningfully into another.

 

[5jj]

"for nothing" means "for free" here.

How do you know?

 

[Matthew Wai]

How do you know?

Not only I know, Barb_D also knows, as she said in Post #10. It can be deduced from the context.

If we don't know exactly what something means in one language, we cannot translate it meaningfully into another.

I know the meaning of the sentence which is explicable, so I can translate it.

 

[5jj]

Not only do I know, Barb_D also knows, as she said in Post #10.

She did not say that she knows. She said "It is very likely".

It can be deduced from the context.

No, it can't. There is insufficient context to know for certain what exactly is meant by 'contributions' or 'for nothing'.

I know the meaning of the sentence which is explicable, so I can translate it.

Matthew, you cannot know the meaning for certain, unless you have further context that you are not telling us about.

 

[dodonaomik]

It's impossible to say what happened without more context.

First, I must say "thank you", but in my memory, that's really an isolated sentence/problem(asked to be translated into Chinese) in a book( But I really have fogotten that book, sorry!). Okay, now I maybe have a reason to think that it's a not good problem even bad problem. The sentence is probably extracted from one issue or a masterpiece, but has possiblity to been concocted by someone.

I think your interpretting it right.
It is a little confusing to me too.
I would think that it means Robert got help or a donation, and Robert did not have to give anything in return for receiving this donation.
For example: If Robert encountered a disaster and as a result he was starving, people may give him free food and expect nothing in return (for nothing= he got food and did not have to pay for it).

Thank you very much! Originally I was called into question_______Why does Roberts do so? Originally I felt Roberts was unnecessary to take his
contributions because he may be not poor even had enough money.
Now I feel it ought to be sensible to abandon the sentence.



Everybody, thank you very much!!!
If originally I know it's a bad sentence, I would have not posted the thread, because now I feel the sentence really wasted everybody's time!!! Sorry!!!