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Grammar
Q & A Newsgroup
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Member Location: China
Posts: 137
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Posted
Selfishness is the one of her many faults which defeats itself.
What does the above sentence mean? Its defeat has defeated me. Chuncan Feng College of English Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province 312000, China |
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Member Posts: 15153
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Posted
I don't blame you for being puzzled here, Chuncan Feng. To look at the sentence carefully, word by word, it doesn't make sense. I think the meaning is that selfishness is a self-defeating quality. In other words, selfishness is one of her many faults which contribute to her failure as a person. Perhaps we might rephrase the sentence: In this case, the selfishness defeats her, not itself. _______ If her selfishness actually could defeat itself, it would be a blessing for her! She would be a nicer person because she wouldn't be selfish any longer. |
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Member Location: China
Posts: 137
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Posted
Thank you, Rachel.
I also thought that the sentence should have been something like "Selfishness is one of her many faults that defeat herself". It comes from a most popular grammar textbook here in China. This message has been edited. Last edited by: Chuncan Feng, Chuncan Feng College of English Zhejiang Yuexiu University of Foreign Languages Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province 312000, China |
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Member Posts: 15153
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Posted
More tweaks: |
