Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[yoshi-pooh]

Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 6:28 am Post subject: What does "if not more than" mean?

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Hi, everyone.

Japanese people seem to like television as much as , if not more than, people in most other countries.

This is the first sentence of a passage in which the author introduces how much Japanese people love television. I think " if not not more than" can have two possible interpretations as follows.

1. even if Japanese people don't like televiosion more than people in most other countries.
2. if not as much as, then more than

Which one do you think is the correct interpretation?

I' really appreciate your help.

yoshi-pooh

[CP]

It means that Japanese people seem to like TV at least as much as people in other countries do, or perhaps even more than people in other countries do. The "as much as, if not more than" construction always has your meaning no. 2.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[yoshi-pooh]

Hi, everyone.

CP, thanks for your reply.

I'd like to ask another question related to "if not".

"Conventional wisdom in America about public education in Japan revolves around several negative, if not overstated, themes. More than just competitive, Japanese education is stressful, the argument goes, and students spend long hours every night grinding away homework..."

In this case, what does "if not" mean?

1. if it is not overstated
2. if it is not negative, then overstated

According to CP's reply to my first question, I think No.2 would be correct.
Am I on the right track?

yoshi-pooh