Aug 28, 2007 21:21
16 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term
How / What (be) ..... like?
English
Other
Linguistics
I know I've asked a similar question before. But Things as regards these expressions still are not clear to me.
What's the difference between expressions such as:
1. How my shipmates lost at sea were?
2. What my shipmates lost at sea were like?
1. mood at a particular moment.
2. Appearance, character, personality, .
An explanation will be welcome. Many thanks once again.
What's the difference between expressions such as:
1. How my shipmates lost at sea were?
2. What my shipmates lost at sea were like?
1. mood at a particular moment.
2. Appearance, character, personality, .
An explanation will be welcome. Many thanks once again.
Responses
+5
15 mins
Olga Layer
Works in field
Accuracy above all!
Native in: Russian 
Works in: Russian to English, English to Russian, French to English, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
how did it happen vs. personal descriptions
1. How were my shipmates lost at sea? (I would put "were" after "how") asks "how did it happen?" -- how did they perish
2. What were my lost at sea shipmates like? (again, I would change the word order here) -- asks for a personal description of those shipmates.
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Note added at 45 mins (2007-08-28 22:06:50 GMT)
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If you want the two questions to be asking a similar thing (i.e., from a descriptive perspective), then you need to rephrase the 1st question: e.g., How were my lost at sea shipmates? Otherwise, the implication is that it is asking about the act itself of them being lost at sea, how did it happen.
2. What were my lost at sea shipmates like? (again, I would change the word order here) -- asks for a personal description of those shipmates.
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Note added at 45 mins (2007-08-28 22:06:50 GMT)
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If you want the two questions to be asking a similar thing (i.e., from a descriptive perspective), then you need to rephrase the 1st question: e.g., How were my lost at sea shipmates? Otherwise, the implication is that it is asking about the act itself of them being lost at sea, how did it happen.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Carol Gullidge
15 mins
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Thank you, Carol
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| agree |
Bernhard Sulzer
: Good point, Olga. The first question should indeed be rephrased.
1 hr
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Thank you, Bernhard. It is hard to tell for sure without more context, though...
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| agree |
Lubosh Hanuska
1 hr
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Thank you!
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| agree |
David Knowles
: .. but "lost at sea shipmates" is a bit Russian - put shipmates first!
8 hrs
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:) Thanks, David
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| agree |
Alfa Trans (X)
9 hrs
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Thank you!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "many thanks!!!"
2 hrs
Bernhard Sulzer
United States
United States
Works in field
United States
High quality at a reasonable price
Native in: German
Works in: English to German, German to English, German, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
6
in which pysical shape or mental state were they / how did they behave
The first question, as Olga and Ken have pointed out, would probably not be asked using that word order but rather by putting the lost-at-sea part in its correct attributive place.
Maybe, in a conversation, you could hear it like this:
More like one idea after the other: "(Tell me), how your shipmates were, pause.. (so) lost at sea?" (with a concerned tone of voice)
Answer: any number of answers: terrified, in shock, ...
Could go towards "in which physical or mental shape (state) were they?"
But I think this would depend on the context. There is no easy answer.
2. What were they like?
they were complaining, swearing, and getting on each others' nerves.
so, possible answers:
1. physical and mental state (injured, in shock)
2. how they behaved. (complaining, swearing)
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-28 23:31:52 GMT)
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..not for points
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Note added at 22 hrs (2007-08-29 19:58:16 GMT)
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additional info:
How were you/they? mental/physical state or simply how did they feel?
Answer: they were okay but stressed out/
they were not happy
what were you like? more towards the character of a person or towards their behavior:
Answer: they displayed a strong attitude about it (did not give up) - they stuck it out
or: they were complaining, swearing (that's what they were like)
Maybe, in a conversation, you could hear it like this:
More like one idea after the other: "(Tell me), how your shipmates were, pause.. (so) lost at sea?" (with a concerned tone of voice)
Answer: any number of answers: terrified, in shock, ...
Could go towards "in which physical or mental shape (state) were they?"
But I think this would depend on the context. There is no easy answer.
2. What were they like?
they were complaining, swearing, and getting on each others' nerves.
so, possible answers:
1. physical and mental state (injured, in shock)
2. how they behaved. (complaining, swearing)
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-08-28 23:31:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
..not for points
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2007-08-29 19:58:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
additional info:
How were you/they? mental/physical state or simply how did they feel?
Answer: they were okay but stressed out/
they were not happy
what were you like? more towards the character of a person or towards their behavior:
Answer: they displayed a strong attitude about it (did not give up) - they stuck it out
or: they were complaining, swearing (that's what they were like)
Discussion
2. Cómo fueron mis amigos...? Describe mis amigos... I think!
1. How were my shipmates lost at sea?
2. What were my shipmates lost at sea like?