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kelvinho8
What does "literally" mean?
I read this word from time to time, but really don't understand the exact meaning of it?
e. g. Literally the only bad spot to leave my paper!
Thanks in advance.
13. Sep. 2016 06:08
Antworten · 5
2
The meaning of the word is exactly or precisely or actually or really
13. September 2016
1
按照字面
13. September 2016
1
I can imagine that it's confusing. In American English, this is a word that is changing in meaning.
"Literally" used to mean that each word means exactly what it is, there is no exaggeration, there are no idioms. e.g. "I literally hit the books last night." under this definition would mean that I took my hand and punched my books.
Today, it is common for people to use "literally" as an intensifier. They use it instead of "a lot" or "more" or "bigger" or some other word that would convey that the action or emotion was more than the words imply. e.g. "I literally hit the books last night" would mean "I studied for many, many hours" ("hit the books" is an idiom for studying).
You're going to need to guess from context which version of "literally" someone means. "Literally the only bad spot to leave my paper." probably is closer to the second. There were a number of good spots for him to leave his paper (in the professor's chair, in an email to the professor, on the professor's desk, in the professor's in basket, with the professor's secretary) and he chose to leave it with the department mailboxes - somewhere the professor never looks.
13. September 2016
1
It means to think, do or believe something just with hearing or reading a phrase and taking the exact meaning of it, that might be wanting to say something else.
when someone looks that in the same restaurant is his girlfriend sitting and chatting. He would say: Oh no! "please punch me in the face right now!".
And then you punch him!
May be he didn't wanted a punch, he was just referring to the fact that was so embarrassing to see his ex there, but you punch him, you take it literally.
Another meaning is to copy something literally, that mean to copy everything word by word.
Did you get it?
13. September 2016
真的
13. September 2016
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kelvinho8
Sprachfähigkeiten
Chinesisch (Mandarin), Chinesisch (Kantonesisch), Englisch
Lernsprache
Englisch
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