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little way Hello,everyone I have a question in this following sentence: We can think only a very little way outside,and then only if we are very original. Could I say" little of way' in this sentence ,and use" but" or " however" in place of "and then" in this sentence? Thanks in advance : )
Jul 27, 2014 3:38 PM
Answers · 16
Let's talk about way outside. You have not given us the context. So we can only guess. I think he is using "way" in the casual American sense of "much". I think by "outside", he means "outside of the norm". The context may be that he is saying, "In science, we are always looking for breakthroughs. To do that we need to think outside of the norm. Even the most original minds, however, find it hard to break through the norm in a major way. Even if we try hard, our "outside of the norm thinking" usually progresses only by very small steps." You have seen the context. Is that what he wants to say?
July 28, 2014
What does the original sentence mean? Where did you copy it from?
July 28, 2014
Gong, you have now provided more information through the comments. Let's analyse this sentence to see what it wants to say. If we break it down like this, you will see why we should not say "little of way": We can think only a very little way outside, and then only if we are very original.  "way outside" is not good English but it's not incorrect.
July 28, 2014
Can I try: We can ponder just a very tiny step beyond the road, but subsequently just see whether we would be a lot more creative.
July 27, 2014
The sentence is fine as it is. There is no need to change anything.
July 27, 2014
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