Nora
What is the definition of dictate here? "The two-year-old usually attempts to act like a tyrant and autocrat, trying to give orders to its parents, siblings and family pets as if they were menials in its own private army and responds with regal fury when they won't be dictated to" I get that dictate means "an order or principle that must be obeyed", yet I can't fully get the meaning of it in this sentence.
Nov 2, 2017 10:58 AM
Answers · 4
Hi
November 2, 2017
Hello Nora, As you say 'dictate' means an order that must be obeyed. However parents refuse to obey these orders, they won't accept orders from children. Just to make it a little more confusing the action is written in the passive tense! So the 'receiver' of the verb comes in front of the verb and the verb 'be' takes the tense. Hope this helps Bob
November 2, 2017
They wont be told what to do.
November 2, 2017
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