Question

21 January

Japanese

English (US)
English (UK)

Question about English (US)

What’s the meaning of this sentence?

A great man of the past is one thing to the man in the street and another to those who study him closely- and who seldom agree.

See a translation

Answers

LynneeML

21 January

English (US)

A historical figure means one thing to average people and means something else to the people who study him and who rarely agree.
・"great man of the past" = a person whose actions shaped history, a historical figure
・"man on the street" = average people, an average person

See a translation

Shun1245

21 January

Japanese

@LynneeML I understand, but what does “thing to A” mean?

See a translation

Shun1245

21 January

Japanese

@LynneeML umm, does “the people.......” mean “the people who study him and rarely agree.”?
Or are there two groups, people who study him closely and people who seldom agree?

See a translation

LynneeML

21 January

English (US)

@Shun1245 There are two groups of people in this sentence: average people who do not study him, and people who do. The people who do study him rarely agree with each other.

See a translation

LynneeML

21 January

English (US)

@Shun1245 I'm not sure this is what you're asking about, but there is a set formation "X means one thing the Group/Person A and another to Group/Person B." It means that the meaning and importance of X are different depending on the group/person. Does that answer your question?

See a translation

Shun1245

25 January

Japanese

@LynneeML yes! Thank you!!

See a translation

1 like

[News] Hey you! The one learning a language!

Do you know how to improve your language skills❓ All you have to do is have your writing corrected by a native speaker!
With HiNative, you can have your writing corrected by native speakers for free ✍️✨.

Share this question

Copy URL

What’s the meaning of this sentence?A great man of the past is one thing to the man in the street and another to those who study him closely- and who seldom agree. See a translation

A historical figure means one thing to average people and means something else to the people who study him and who rarely agree.・"great man of the past" = a person whose actions shaped history, a historical figure・"man on the street" = average people, an average person

@Shun1245 There are two groups of people in this sentence: average people who do not study him, and people who do. The people who do study him rarely agree with each other.

@Shun1245 I'm not sure this is what you're asking about, but there is a set formation "X means one thing the Group/Person A and another to Group/Person B." It means that the meaning and importance of X are different depending on the group/person. Does that answer your question?

What’s the meaning of this sentence?

A great man of the past is one thing to the man in the street and another to those who study him closely- and who seldom agree.

See a translation

A historical figure means one thing to average people and means something else to the people who study him and who rarely agree.
・"great man of the past" = a person whose actions shaped history, a historical figure
・"man on the street" = average people, an average person