Jay
"Meetings are the time waster there is" vs. "There is a meeting which is the time waster" "Meetings are the biggest time waster there is." It is the sentence I want to understand. I've never seen that 'there is' is put at the end of a sentence. When I saw this sentence, I understood the meaning, but it was weird to me. "Meetings are the biggest time waster there is" vs. "There is a meeting which is the biggest time waster" Do they have the same meaning? And why is 'there is' used in that way? Thank you very much!!
Nov 1, 2019 6:23 PM
Answers · 3
3
No, the meanings are not the same. In this context, "meetings" ("meeting" in the plural with the zero article) indicates a general category. "Meetings are the biggest time waster there is." = "Meetings AS A CATEGORY are the biggest time waster there is." = "Meetings as a category are the biggest time waster THAT there is." = "Meetings as a category are the biggest time waster THAT EXISTS."
November 1, 2019
Thank you so much!! :)
November 1, 2019
They don’t have the same meaning, no. “Meetings are the biggest time waster there is” This means meetings are the biggest waste time, in a general sense. “There is a meeting which is the biggest time waster” This means there is a specific meeting which is the biggest time waste.. “There is” is required because “biggest” is a superlative adjective. It compares meetings in general with everything else (in the world)
November 1, 2019
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