Is there honestly a real-life situation in which you would need to know which one the speaker means? The sentence is usually not meant to be taken absolutely literally anyway.Does it mean "Don't talk to me until I take a sip of my coffee" or "... until I drink all of my coffee"?
- Don't talk to me till I've had my coffee.
Probably not, but I was still wondering what the literal meaning of that sentence was.Is there honestly a real-life situation in which you would need to know which one the speaker means?
OK, what is it anyway?The sentence is usually not meant to be taken absolutely literally anyway.
The literal meaning is exactly what it says. I suppose there might be some people in the world who insist that not a single person speak to them until they've had coffee.Probably not, but I was still wondering what the literal meaning of that sentence was.
I'm not sure what this question means. Are you trying to find out what the meaning is if it's not taken absolutely literally? If so, it's usually just a way of saying "I'm not great in the mornings. I need coffee/caffeine before I'm really able to take part in any sort of meaningful conversation", exactly as jutfrank suggested in post #2.OK, what is it anyway?
I'm amazed you even asked that question as if it didn't matter what exactly "till I've had my coffee" means. It could make a huge difference. Either the person is asking you not to talk to him until he drinks some of his coffee (in other words, starts drinking it), or he's asking you to wait because he wants to have some quiet time until he finishes it. See?Is there honestly a real-life situation in which you would need to know which one the speaker means?
The literal meaning is exactly what it says.
You are easily amazed.I'm amazed you even asked that question as if it didn't matter what exactly "till I've had my coffee" means,
No.. It could make a huge difference. Either the person is asking you not to talk to him until he drinks some of his coffee (in other words, starts drinking it), or he's asking you to wait because he wants to have some quiet time until he finishes it. See?
Thanks.You are easily amazed.
Imagine you have arrived at your friend's house and she is in a terrible mood because of something that has just happened in her life. She's really upset. She says, "Please, don't say anything until I've had my coffee". If you take this sentence wrong, you might start talking as soon as she takes a few sips, or conversely, you might think you should wait until she finishes it. A person with a healthy imagination can come up with hundreds more contexts where the difference would matter.I can't imagine a situation in which that difference would be 'huge'.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiM-4aR6J6CAxUHITQIHcLyCDoQFnoECA0QAw&url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/000456328402100307&usg=AOvVaw1UXpTZXYyjTJEaXIOaSQ1_&opi=89978449Thanks.
It's amazing that people consider unimportant exactly what their language shows weakness in.
Imagine you have arrived at your friend's house and she is in a terrible mood because of something that has just happened in her life. She's really upset. She says, "Please, don't say anything until I've had my coffee". If you take this sentence wrong, you might start talking as soon as she takes a few sips, or conversely, you might think you should wait until she finishes it. A person with a healthy imagination can come up with hundreds more contexts where the difference would matter.
Imagine you have arrived at your friend's house and she is in a terrible mood because of something that has just happened in her life. She's really upset. She says, "Please, don't say anything until I've had my coffee".
Okay, I see what you're saying. But I want you to see my point of view, too. Already in #4, I explained that I'd like to know (at least) the literal meaning of that part of the sentence. To my mind, it can't be that these words put together mean nothing in English. They must have some meaning, at least a literal one. Even though you answered me pretty well in #2, a question from emsr2d2 confused me and I had to reply the way I did in #4 and #6.Get the meaning (the thought) first and only then get the language to express that thought. In other words, describe to us the situation and what you want to say and we'll tell you how to say it best.
If you come across an example of a particular bit of language use uttered by a native speaker, we can usually tell you what it means, so long as you give us appropriate context. But if you make up your own sentences without knowing what you yourself mean, how do you think we could know? Making up sentences and then asking us what possible interpretation there could be for such an utterance is not a good approach. Can you see why?
I didn't know that I had to interpret it. I thought it was in the meaning of the sentence, and I should just know what that is.The speaker here is asking you to wait until something has been done. You have to interpret what that thing is. It may be drinking just one sip, it may be drinking half a cup, one full cup, or two or three cups.
Yes. Thank you.Have I understood/answered your question?
I didn't know that I had to interpret it. I thought it was in the meaning of the sentence, and I should just know what that is.