'Come on up from out of under there'- the longest?

Maciek · Post by **Maciek** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 5:45 pm

Can anyone explain to me the difference between ''how do you mean?" and ''what do you mean?''. I also would like to know, if there's a longer sentence comprising mainly prepositions than this one:
''Come on up from out of under there''.- To me it sounds odd and I doubt, if there's anyone who has ever heard such a sentence in spoken English.

Long time ago a friend of mine (a native speaker) told me about this sentence so I guess that, grammatically nothing is wrong with it.

Thanks for any comments,
Maciek

Stephen Jones · Post by **Stephen Jones** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 10:36 pm

Actually there are ionly three prepositions in the sentence: "from" "out of" and "under". "on" and "up" are adverbs.

I've never heard the sentence, but, surprisingly enough it does sound natural.

Roger · Post by **Roger** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 1:33 am

...while "how do you mean?" versus "what do you mean?" do not have synonymous meanings,really.

Speaker 1, standing on the top landing of a stairwell:
"Come up here!"
Speaker 2, sitting in a wheelchair at the bottom:
"How do you mean?"

Versus:
Speaker 1 to speaker 2, both in wheelchairs on the top of the stairwell:
"Let's get upt to the top floor."
Speaker 2: "What do you mean?"

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 9:31 am

How do you mean? - Use this to get someone to explain what they've just said or tell you more about it.

What do you mean? - Use this when you are surprised or annoyed by what someone has just said, or when you just want them to explain more.

Duncan Powrie · Post by **Duncan Powrie** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 10:16 am

metal, isn't there a lot of overlap in your definitions?! Both involve somebody "explaining/telling you (once) more (about what they've just said)", and I'd hazard a guess that we could use "How do you mean?" to also express annoyance, impatience, surprise etc.

(me looking very pleased with myself).

ardsboy · Post by **ardsboy** » Mon Feb 23, 2004 11:14 pm

The longest I'd heard of before was 'in out from underneath below the table'.

My Dingaling · Post by **My Dingaling** » Wed Feb 25, 2004 4:20 pm

'How do you mean' is used to ask and specific meaning of something said as an innuendo, metaphorically or open to interpretation. The listener has an understanding of the message but wants a confirmation as to whether it is the correct one.

'What do you mean' is used when there is misunderstanding and doubt about the meaning of the message questioned. Its different from the first case because the person asking the question is lacking the needed information to form an interpretation, whereas the first case is a question of the right interpretation of the given information.