[General] Some questions

[Silverobama]

Hi,


I have some questions concerning this paragraph.

There will come a time when Ryan Giggs is stood besuited before the TV cameras on a touchline somewhere in Europe as Manchester United fans sing his name and reminisce in the stands above, as they did for Roy Keane in Lisbon. Mercifully for United time is still waiting and the songs are not just for what the indefatigable Welshman has accomplished for the club in days gone by.

1.
Does "There will come a time" mean "It has been a long time"?

2.
Does the "as" in red in line two mean "when"?

3.
Why did the United fans sing for Roy Keane in Lisbon?

4.
What does the "Mercifully" part mean?

Thanks a lot

Here is the source.

 

[5jj]

I'll take the first two.

1.Does "There will come a time" mean "It has been a long time"?
Silver, how often do we use 'will' for a present perfect situation? It means 'A time will come' - in the future.

2. Does the "as" in red in line two mean "when"?
No, it means, as it often does , 'in the way that'.

 

[emsr2d2]

I thought you meant the first red "a" in line 2. If so, it means "while".

 

[5jj]

I was referring to the second 'as'. I didn't spot the first.

 

[emsr2d2]

I was referring to the second 'as'. I didn't spot the first.

And I realised that the first red "a" was only in the second line when I was reading this on my phone. Now that I'm looking at it on my laptop, the first red "a" is in line 1!

Posters and responders need to remember that not all screens look the same so referring to line numbers and positioning on screen is not always useful.

 

[Silverobama]

I am sorry. When I was posting this thread, the first "as" was in line two and now in line one. I wonder the "as" in line one now means "while"?

Since "There will come a time" means "in the future", does it mean that Giggs will hang up his shoes so that the fans will miss him?

 

[5jj]

It suggests that Giggs will stop playing, and will become a manager.

 

[Rover_KE]

Mercifully for United time is still waiting

means that the aforesaid time has not yet come and United supporters can continue to enjoy his performances on the pitch.

Note that he will eventually 'hang up his boots' - not his shoes.

As your questions are about Ryan Giggs that would have been a better thread title.

Rover

 

[emsr2d2]

I am sorry. When I was posting this thread, the first "as" was in line two and now in line one. I wonder the "as" in line one now means "while"?

Since "There will come a time" means "in the future", does it mean that Giggs will hang up his shoes so that the fans will miss him?

As I said in post 3, the first "as" means "while".

 

[Silverobama]

Thanks a lot.

But it seems that "Mercifully for United time" is not grammatically correct, "mercifully" is an adverd, right?

I still don't understand this part, can you help me further?

Thanks a lot

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks a lot.

But it seems that "Mercifully for United time" is not grammatically correct, "mercifully" is an adverb, right?

I still don't understand this part, can you help me further?

Thanks a lot

If you imagine a comma after "United", you might see how the sentence works.

Time is still waiting and that is merciful for Manchester United.

 

[Silverobama]

Thanks a lot

Now I've understood a large part of this paragraph. I marvelled at the writing skills of English people.

And one more question:

Mercifully for United time is still waiting and the songs are not just for what the indefatigable Welshman has accomplished for the club in days gone by.

Here it means "the songs are not just for", does it mean the songs also for someone else?

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks a lot

Now I've understood a large part of this paragraph. I marvelled at the writing skills of English people.

And one more question:

Mercifully for United time is still waiting and the songs are not just for what the indefatigable Welshman has accomplished for the club in days gone by.

Here it means "the songs are not just for", does it mean the songs also for someone else?

The songs are not for only one thing. They are for more than one thing: 1) what the Welshman has accomplished for the club previously and 2) something else (or some other things) not specified.