I never recognize 90% of people who are from other countries, why does it mean 10% of people from another country?

Why can’t I recognise 10% of people? What goes into saying there is no time? (Cf comments under this video.) which would tell you that the sentence should mean “There was no occasion (and never will be), on which I recognized 90% (or more) of the people”, in contradiction to the apparently prevalent interpretation of the sentence. The 90% comes to mean the number of people you know but don’t know.

How does it work? I know some people who don’t think that “Ich erkenne nie 90% der Leute” in German text, but it is a “logical” verb. What is the grammatical difference between these two identically structured sentences?

Edit: I’m not interested in stylistic recommendations, as I understand that it is colocative and ambiguous and therefore should be avoided in formal writing. Is syntax a term some non-native speakers produce spontaneously and most others seem to have no problem parsing it the intended way (at least given an appropriate context)? I know there is something

I can do.

Asked on September 22, 2021 in Grammar.
Add Comment
8 Answer(s)

“There is no time like that”. Never means “the universe didn’t exist”. I never recognize 90% of people, and it is a leap to say there is no time or history to go with it, and there is no time to go with it, and no time to make a mistake.” What

makes this expression strange is that it takes two negative expressions and deletes them both, without making sure to flip things connected to them. The word “I never recognize 10% of the people” might be better put, but a smaller number can make the problem seem smaller. And I can’t say that this style of speech is based on psychology,

but on logic.

Answered on October 13, 2021.
Add Comment

The word never is “at no time.” What is being used to indicate negative state that persists through all time? So it’s short for

At all times, I don’t recognize 90% of the people. I’ve become all over the world but I’m not one. It’s about 90% of people.

i don’t ever

recognize 90% of people.

What kind of people would you go to and why?

Answered on October 15, 2021.
Add Comment

The word never is “at no time.” What is being used to indicate negative state that persists through all time? So it’s short for

At all times, I don’t recognize 90% of the people. I’ve become all over the world but I’m not one. It’s about 90% of people.

i don’t ever

recognize 90% of people.

What kind of people would you go to and why?

Answered on October 3, 2021.
Add Comment

The word never is “at no time.” What is being used to indicate negative state that persists through all time? So it’s short for

At all times, I don’t recognize 90% of the people. I’ve become all over the world but I’m not one. It’s about 90% of people.

i don’t ever

recognize 90% of people.

What kind of people would you go to and why?

Answered on October 9, 2021.
Add Comment

The word never is “at no time.” What is being used to indicate negative state that persists through all time? So it’s short for

At all times, I don’t recognize 90% of the people. I’ve become all over the world but I’m not one. It’s about 90% of people.

i don’t ever

recognize 90% of people.

What kind of people would you go to and why?

Answered on October 11, 2021.
Add Comment

“There is no time like that”. Never means “the universe didn’t exist”. I never recognize 90% of people, and it is a leap to say there is no time or history to go with it, and there is no time to go with it, and no time to make a mistake.” What

makes this expression strange is that it takes two negative expressions and deletes them both, without making sure to flip things connected to them. The word “I never recognize 10% of the people” might be better put, but a smaller number can make the problem seem smaller. And I can’t say that this style of speech is based on psychology,

but on logic.

Answered on October 11, 2021.
Add Comment

The word never is “at no time.” What is being used to indicate negative state that persists through all time? So it’s short for

At all times, I don’t recognize 90% of the people. I’ve become all over the world but I’m not one. It’s about 90% of people.

i don’t ever

recognize 90% of people.

What kind of people would you go to and why?

Answered on October 13, 2021.
Add Comment

The word never is “at no time.” What is being used to indicate negative state that persists through all time? So it’s short for

At all times, I don’t recognize 90% of the people. I’ve become all over the world but I’m not one. It’s about 90% of people.

i don’t ever

recognize 90% of people.

What kind of people would you go to and why?

Answered on October 14, 2021.
Add Comment

Your Answer

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.