Gil-seop
Is this strange? Please read this: Po is chosen to be a dragon warrior. However, he gets discouraged, thinking that he doesn't have what it takes. Master Oogway encourages him, saying "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present." That would mean this: since the past has already passed, we cannot change it. However, the future is changeable. So, be committed to the precious present without regrets about the past or needless worries about the future. What a nice saying it is! Do you think "That would mean this:" is strange? Thank you!
Feb 10, 2016 4:11 PM
Answers · 3
1
It's OK. It's not smooth and natural, it's not strange. It's good English, but I don't think it's very good _writing_. It could be effective in a speech, where the speaker wants to prepare the audience for the restatement. "That" refers to the original quotation. We've just heard it. He is mentally putting it over there. "This" means "what I am about to say," which is mentally closer, right here. It seems odd to me that Asian characters, who are presumably speaking in an Asian language, would use a saying that relies on a pun that only works in English! It is a play on two different meanings of the English word "present:" "now," and "a gift."
February 10, 2016
"That would mean" without the "this" at the end sounds better and would be the way I would say it, but I think both are correct English. :-) And Po "has" chosen to be a dragon warrior. I love that saying.
February 10, 2016
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