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khyber
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Compunction Junction
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 Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 6:49 pm Post subject: Modifiers: A Grammar Question |
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In the phrase:
"Biblical scholars put the age of the earth between 6,000 and 10,000 years."
does it mean "All biblical scholars"? Could that be a correct assumption?
I was told that, when dealing with consensus opinions, modifiers like "all" are unnecessary because it is implied that one does not mean "all".
I hope I'm right cause I wanna make this guy look like a wanker. If I'm wrong of course, I just won't talk about it. 
And could you provide me with a link? |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Thu Oct 26, 2006 7:47 pm Post subject: Re: Modifiers: A Grammar Question |
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| khyber wrote: |
In the phrase:
"Biblical scholars put the age of the earth between 6,000 and 10,000 years."
does it mean "All biblical scholars"? Could that be a correct assumption?
I was told that, when dealing with consensus opinions, modifiers like "all" are unnecessary because it is implied that one does not mean "all".
I hope I'm right cause I wanna make this guy look like a *beep*. If I'm wrong of course, I just won't talk about it.
And could you provide me with a link? |
There's no implied "all". There's an implied majority. Many people like to make hay that you're implying "all" and think they win points in a debate. We're just speaking in short hand and assume our readers are smart enough to assume you're smart enough to recognize there are exceptions and dissenting opinions and you're just not laboring to footnote everything you say.
Koreans love kimchi. We're not implying all. Clearly there are exceptions. We all know some Koreans who don't love kimchi. But clearly we're saying the majority love kimchi. |
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Woland
Joined: 10 May 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Fri Oct 27, 2006 4:37 am Post subject: |
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I'd also add that this use of the plural is often an indicator of the writer's own views on whatever is being discussed and as a way of making readers assume that perspective.
There are serious biblical scholars who reject literal interpretation of the Bible; in fact, they are probably the majority. |
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