No answer in the reading, mark X.

sitifan

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No answer in the reading, mark X. (quoted from a Chinese teacher of English)
The quotation means "If there is no answer in the reading, mark X."
Is it acceptable to native speakers?
 

tedmc

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It doesn't make sense to me without the conditional.
 

sitifan

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What does that mean?
"Go back to your questions. From the reading, find out the answers to your questions. Write the answers down. No answer in the reading, mark X." (The above classroom English is quoted from a Chinese teacher of English.)
 

tedmc

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"Go back to your questions. From the reading, find out the answers to your questions. Write the answers down. No answer in the reading, mark X." (The above classroom English is quoted from a Chinese teacher of English.)
I think this is not clear and badly written.
 

emsr2d2

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The only way to write that without the conditional would be (the rather casual):

No answer in the reading? Write "X".
 

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"Go back to your questions. From the reading, find out the answers to your questions. Write the answers down. No answer in the reading, mark X." (The above classroom English is quoted from a Chinese teacher of English.)
It seems to be about some kind of exam -- maybe about reading comprehension. I don't what my questions are though, and I don't why I have questions. Hm. Apparently, if I don't find any answers to my questions I am to mark "X" somewhere, but what if I don't have any questions? Or is that question impertinent?
😊
 
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tedmc

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As instructions for an English exam, I think they leave much to be desired.

Go back to your questions.
Whose questions - the examiner's or the candidate's?

From the reading,
What reading?


find out the answers to your questions.
Answer the questions based on the given passage?

Write the answers down.

No answer in the reading, mark X.

This makes no sense.
 

sitifan

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It seems to be about some kind of exam -- maybe about reading comprehension. I don't what my questions are though, and I don't why I have questions.
What does the sentence in bold mean?
 

emsr2d2

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What does the sentence in bold mean?
That's a very good question! (It doesn't help that there's a word missing between "don't" and "why".)
 

Tarheel

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What does the sentence in bold mean?
It's missing a word. It's supposed to be: "I don't know what my questions are or why I have questions."
 

tedmc

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It's missing a word. It's supposed to be: "I don't know what my questions are or why I have questions."
The examiner gives you the questions, so they become your questions. ;)
 
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Tarheel

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If I had any questions I would know what they are. Also, I don't need any help coming up with questions. I have plenty of my own.
 
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sitifan

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If I had any questions I would know what they are. Also, I need any help coming up with questions. I have plenty of my own.
What does the sentence in bold mean?
 

emsr2d2

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What does the sentence in bold mean?
I think there's a word missing again.
Don't worry, @sitifan. The original text is clear enough. Whilst it clearly wasn't written by a native English speaker, there's no confusion over what "your questions" means. We sometimes use "you/your" instead of "the". However, it would have helped if you had said in post #1 that this is part of the instructions for a reading comprehension exercise.
 
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