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fw
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 361
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 Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 1:05 am Post subject: no more ...than ... |
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Does the last sentence in the following passage make sense? If it does, please rewrite it into a simpler, easier-to-understand sentence?
Today we are able to enjoy the benefit of international knowledge. We are all familiar with emus, sharks and crocodiles even if we are unlikely to meet them all in their natural environments. But what might ancient Greek adventurers have thought as they first set foot in Egypt, to be confronted by a crocodile? Such a creature would have been no more alien to the ancient Greeks than a dragon is to us today. |
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pinenut
Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 165
Location: Illinois, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:12 am Post subject: Re: no more ...than ... |
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| fw wrote: |
Does the last sentence in the following passage make sense? If it does, please rewrite it into a simpler, easier-to-understand sentence?
Today we are able to enjoy the benefit of international knowledge. We are all familiar with emus, sharks and crocodiles even if we are unlikely to meet them all in their natural environments. But what might ancient Greek adventurers have thought as they first set foot in Egypt, to be confronted by a crocodile? Such a creature would have been no more alien to the ancient Greeks than a dragon is to us today. |
Such a creature (a crocodile) would have been as alien to the ancient Greeks as a dragon is to us today. |
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fw
Joined: 12 Oct 2005
Posts: 361
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| Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:10 pm Post subject: Re: no more ...than ... |
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Thank you, pinenut.
| pinenut wrote: |
| Such a creature (a crocodile) would have been as alien to the ancient Greeks as a dragon is to us today. |
Then I wonder if it should have been:
Such a creature would have been no less alien to the ancient Greeks than a dragon is to us today.
Any advice would be appreciated. |
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pinenut
Joined: 16 Feb 2006
Posts: 165
Location: Illinois, U.S.A.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:04 am Post subject: Re: no more ...than ... |
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| fw wrote: |
Thank you, pinenut.
| pinenut wrote: |
| Such a creature (a crocodile) would have been as alien to the ancient Greeks as a dragon is to us today. |
Then I wonder if it should have been:
Such a creature would have been no less alien to the ancient Greeks than a dragon is to us today.
Any advice would be appreciated. |
You could, but you have to look beyond the words. You have to know the context in which the speaker tries to convey certain meanings, overt or hidden.
Let's look at a similar grammatical construction, which deals with a more familar subject.
Windows Vista is no more secure than XP.
The author is saying, "Windows Vista is as secure as XP." But he assumes that his readers think Windows Vista is more secure than XP. That is why he does not say, "Windows Vista is no less secure than XP."
There is another hidden meaning. If you think XP is not secure, neither is Vista. In other words, none of them are secure. |
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