Monday, August 30, 2010
So Vague
Let us see here; a vague sentence means that there are so many ways to understand the sentence. Last weekend, I was hanging out with my BFF after my classes. We went out for Mexican food, because we love food and we both were craving some Mexican that day. We wanted some carne asda fries, but that place did not sell it. Therefore, we both got a regular burrito. I was not facing my BFF when she said, “it’s huge”. I did not know what she meant when she said that. I could have guessed many different things she would have been talking about. I turned around and said, “What are u talking about”, and she said “the burrito”. How vague was that sentence? She could have said the burrito is bigger than I expected, but she did not. I thought she was talking about the birds that were walking around near us, or the soda can. There was so many ways to understand it; I could not stop laughing at her. It was a big burrito, even though we ordered a regular. Overall, it was a tasty, good-sized burrito.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
That was a really funny example you provided in your post! "It's huge" can mean so many things, especially if you don't have eye contact with the person that's saying it, so it can be easily misleading. I think of that catchphrase that some people use, “That’s what she said”, when it comes to simple phrases like that. It does have a lot of meaning and “it” needs to be clarified for a better understanding for what “it” was meant. “It” can be a lot of things that we don’t know what the speaker may be referring to. It seems like you and your friends enjoyed the Mexican burrito you guys ate!
ReplyDeleteI love your example! It was hilarious. I also experienced several situations where the people I know said something that made me misunderstood, or even I made the same mistakes all the time. We really need to watch for what we say. Last Thursday, I was at lunch with my boyfriend, and there was a girl passed by. My boyfriend said "oh, hot!". I thought he was talking about the girl so I got mad at him, but it turned out that he was talking about his food. Besides, a vague claim could also hurt someone feelings or make them feel bad if they do not get what we try to tell them. After all, I believe we should think carefully before we say something because it is the best way to avoid vague claims.
ReplyDeleteHi your example about a vague sentence was good. People use vague sentences all the time and do not even realize it.If I were you I would have felt the same way when my friend said it's big because she could have been talking about anything. It's funny that you and your friend went to a Mexican place because me and my roommate happen to love Mexican food and are always searching for a new place to try. People have to be careful when using vague sentences though. They are very misleading sometimes and you can think someone was talking about one thing and they were really talking about something else.
ReplyDelete