Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1. They broke up on fairly good terms.
- This means �they broke up and they both felt pretty happy�, right?

2. When she came down to visit me, she tried to get me to sleep with her.
- �get� here means �make� or �force�, right?

3. If you just want to be friends, just be up front with her about your feelings.
- �be up front with her� here means �be clear with her�, right?

Thanks a lot to Teachers,

Stevenukd

[redset]

1. Almost, if they broke up on good terms then they would both be content with it, not angry or upset. Changing it to 'fairly good' means it's a little worse than good - they might not be angry or upset but there may be a few problems or disagreements, so they might not be happy (like ) but they're at least OK about it. It's quite a subtle difference.

2. "Get" here means "make", but it's not really forceful - she probably tried to convince him to sleep with her by asking, or seducing him, or generally encouraging him. "Make" implies that there's no option, or that it's against his will, and "force" is very strong and implies threats or violence.

3. Yep!

[Nef]

1. They broke up on fairly good terms.
- This means �they broke up and they both felt pretty happy�, right?

They don't hate each. They may still have had friendly feelings toward one another. They may even be able to be friends.


2. When she came down to visit me, she tried to get me to sleep with her.
- �get� here means �make� or �force�, right?

"Get me to" also might mean "persuade me to". Force isn't necessarily involved.


3. If you just want to be friends, just be up front with her about your feelings.
- �be up front with her� here means �be clear with her�, right?

Pretty much. To be "up front" is to be honest, candid, say what you think and feel.