search for and search out; at the edge of and on the edge of; both .......and

[jiang]

Dear teachers,

I have three questions to ask:

No.1
search for: to look for something. search out: to find something.
May I say the difference between the two is the first lays stress on the act of searching while the second one lays stress on the result of searching?

No.2
at the edge of a lake/water. on the edge of a cliff. Can I say 'on the edge of a lake/water and at the edge of a cliff'?

No.3
Could you please explain if the following two pairs of sentences bear the same meaning?

a. The purpose of a university is to produce people who are both specialists and civilized citizens.
The purpose of a university is to produce people who are not only specialists but also civilized citizens.

b. Contrary to what people had expected, he not only attended the meeting but also spoke for twenty minutes.
Contrary to what people had expected he didn't only attended the meeting but also spoke for twenty minutes.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you in advance.

Jiang

 

[Shakespeare's brother]

Jiang, hello again. In my opinion, search for and search out are similar in meaning. You may say: the police search for the missing person and you could say the police search out the missing person. Certainly, the result of both actions will be the same.

Not so sure on your No. 3 at the moment, but for No. 2 I would prefer in both instances to use 'at' the edge of the water/cliff. To stand on the edge of the cliff would seem to suggest a very dangerous action and to stand on the edge of the water may get you wet.

 

[jiang]

Hi,
Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand them except No.3.

Jiang

Jiang, hello again. In my opinion, search for and search out are similar in meaning. You may say: the police search for the missing person and you could say the police search out the missing person. Certainly, the result of both actions will be the same.

Not so sure on your No. 3 at the moment, but for No. 2 I would prefer in both instances to use 'at' the edge of the water/cliff. To stand on the edge of the cliff would seem to suggest a very dangerous action and to stand on the edge of the water may get you wet.

 

[Anglika]

No.3
Could you please explain if the following two pairs of sentences bear the same meaning?

a. The purpose of a university is to produce people who are both specialists and civilized citizens.
The purpose of a university is to produce people who are not only specialists but also civilized citizens.


b. Contrary to what people had expected, he not only attended the meeting but also spoke for twenty minutes.
Contrary to what people had expected he didn't only attend the meeting but also spoke for twenty minutes.

These mean approximately the same thing.

.

 

[jiang]

Dear Anglika,

Thank you very much for your explanation. Now I understand it.

Jiang

.