Teacher Discussion Forums

Posted: **Sat Apr 17, 2004 2:26 am**

Looking up the entry nag in my Cobuild dictionary, there is the following sentence-example:

(1) My girlfriend nagged me to cut my hair.

How could I interprete it? Does it mean that my girlfriend keeps on telling me to go to the barber shop and have my hair cut or it means that she wants to test all her hairdresser skills on my poor hair?

Thanks in advance

José

Posted: **Sat Apr 17, 2004 2:45 am**

I believe it could support either interpretation, Jose.

Depends on context.

What! You mean Portuguese doesn't have ambiguous language?

Larry Latham

Posted: **Sat Apr 17, 2004 5:27 pm**

I would say that she wants you to go to the barbers.

Posted: **Sat Apr 17, 2004 9:03 pm**

believe it could support either interpretation, Jose. Depends on context.

What! You mean Portuguese doesn't have ambiguous language?

Larry Latham

How I wish Larry, how I wish...

I asked this because I was taught that in English you couldn't say I went to the barbers to cut my hair.And this ambiguous structure is perfectly and bloodly used in Portuguese (namely:Eu fui ao barbeiro para cortar meu cabelo).

I guess I need to start revising my concepts

José

Posted: **Sat Apr 17, 2004 9:41 pm**

If I want to nag someone to go to the barber, I'd say, "Why don't you get your hair cut?"

If I were to say, "Why don't you cut your hair?" to me it sounds like the person would cut his/her own hair.

If I said, "Why don't you let me cut your hair?" I'd be offering to do it.

Posted: **Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:27 am**

i am sure that she wants the boy to have a hair cut

hafez

Posted: **Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:28 am**

i am sure that she wants the boy to have a hair cut

hafez