Answers
Oct 13, 2013 - 08:39 AM
Nice logic! I do this all the time, with my Spaniard wife, try to apply legalistic thinking to a crazy thing like language. I have to take a deep breath, release to it, and say "That's just they way it's said." - Imagine if they cracked on us for our language:
"What do you mean, you COULD care less." or a "slim chance" being the same value as a "fat chance" or here's one: A PAIR of pants. It's ONE thing. I love language, as you can tell, and I do think it's great that someone else thinks of these things, but in the end, it's just how they say it.
"What do you mean, you COULD care less." or a "slim chance" being the same value as a "fat chance" or here's one: A PAIR of pants. It's ONE thing. I love language, as you can tell, and I do think it's great that someone else thinks of these things, but in the end, it's just how they say it.
Oct 13, 2013 - 03:14 PM
Thanks, dxcomic. I'm not against being told that "it's just how they say it". That explanation, itself, removes my confusion and allows me to once again feel more confident about my basic understanding. It's difficult for a beginner to try to apply "rules" when exceptions or deviations from those rules are presented without explanation. I'm one who needs to know "why".
Oct 14, 2013 - 08:55 AM
Actually to me, the Spanish version makes more sense than the English. What is meant is that the salad is composed of several different kinds of fruits, thus "salad of fruits." But the orange juice is just made from oranges, thus "juice of orange."