what does it mean?

Welcome to ESL Printables, the website where English Language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc.
Our collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions.

ESL Forum:

Techniques and methods in Language Teaching

Games, activities and teaching ideas

Grammar and Linguistics

Teaching material

Concerning worksheets

Concerning powerpoints

Concerning online exercises

Make suggestions, report errors

ESL forum > Ask for help > what does it mean?

what does it mean?

what does it mean?

The following sentence is taken from one of the esl worksheets. What does it mean?

"So-called equality is such a long way off he staggers me."

24 Apr 2010

adlerhorst

It means that someone is surprised because some other person does something against his or her expectations, which seem to be manifested by a belief in inequality. But there �s something odd in the senence. �So-called equality is such a long way off, so he (his behaviour) staggers me � sounds a little better. What �s the context?

24 Apr 2010

"so-called" means not real, just in theory but not in practice

"so-called equality" means that equality doesn �t really exist

"a long way off" means "far away"

drunk people "stagger" when they walk....they lose their footing etc

Now to get back to your sentence:

"so-called equality is such a long way off it staggers me" means that....

to be able to have equality will take so long that the author can hardly believe it...like this concept knocks him off his feet....

I hope that clears things up a bit for you :-)

Have a great weekend!

Regards from wet Thessaloniki

24 Apr 2010