Gabriel
"He is a weak man who acts as if he knew everything"

Hi, there


In "He is a weak man who acts as if he knew everything", does it mean that every man who acts as if he knew everything is a weak man(he = every man. Like in "He is a clever man who plays the fool")  or does it mean that you are talking about a specific man, maybe a friend,  and "he" is a week man but who acts as if he knew everything." ?


Thank you


Thank you

Apr 20, 2018 6:27 PM
Comments · 5
2

(FYI - s/b knows, not knew)

Imo, both are possible, but this is almost certainly a specific person because they use "he" instead of "it". 

Specific: He is a weak man who acts as if he knows everything.

General: It is a weak man who acts as if he knows everything.


April 20, 2018
1
I heard it said another way about 30 years ago which I liked, „It takes a really smart person to know what he doesn’t know; but,  you have to be dumb,  I mean really dumb, to think you know everything .“ Very true. 
April 20, 2018
1

 as if he knew everything (past tense)

---->This implies he does not know everything as a matter of fact + He is a weak man. 

April 20, 2018
1

Hi Gabriel,

This phrase sounds like it describes a specific man. What is the context of the sentence?

Erica

April 20, 2018
A genius knows when to stop, but an idiot does not know when to stop. That is a difference between an idiot and a genius. I guess the quote partly reflects the fact. 
April 21, 2018