Question
Updated on
15 Oct 2019
- Simplified Chinese (China)
-
English (US)
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Japanese
Question about English (US)
What does We all complain of the shortness of time, and yet we have more than we know what to do with. mean?
What does We all complain of the shortness of time, and yet we have more than we know what to do with. mean?
The difficult part for me to interpret is the phrase” more than”. How to understand its meaning? And can you help me to analyze the sentence constituent? I would be really appreciate your help!!! Thanks a lot!!
Answers
15 Oct 2019
Featured answer
- Arabic
- English (US)
@YukiChiu
If you take it as a whole and reinstate the omissions it becomes:
“We know what to do with it”
The ‘it’ refers here to ‘time’.
So the sentence so far means that we know what to do with time.
But since it is preceded by a superlative construction “more + than” it becomes that the quantity of time we already have exceeds our ability to know what to do with it.
We already have so much, it is in excess, and we cannot utilize all of it as is.
I hope this helps.
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- Arabic
- English (US)
What you are coming across here is called “ellipsis”, which is the omission of parts of the speech that is understood through context or is superfluous (unnecessary).
If you reinstate the omitted word, it becomes “yet we have more ‘time’ than we know what to do with”. We know this from context, as the the beginning sentence is talking about lack (shortness) of time.
If you need help breaking down other parts, please point them out.
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- Simplified Chinese (China)
@Y_question_mark Thanks for your precise answer! I am so grateful!! But I’m still confused with the end of the sentence — “what to do with”. What function is it?
- Arabic
- English (US)
@YukiChiu
If you take it as a whole and reinstate the omissions it becomes:
“We know what to do with it”
The ‘it’ refers here to ‘time’.
So the sentence so far means that we know what to do with time.
But since it is preceded by a superlative construction “more + than” it becomes that the quantity of time we already have exceeds our ability to know what to do with it.
We already have so much, it is in excess, and we cannot utilize all of it as is.
I hope this helps.
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- Simplified Chinese (China)
@Y_question_mark I can’t tell you how I appreciate your answer and now I totally get across it!! Sorry to trouble you and wish you good luck!
- Arabic
- English (US)
@YukiChiu
It was no trouble at all.
Happy I could help.
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