Representing thinking, perceiving, liking and desiring
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Students' problems | page 7 of 8 |
Metaphorical meanings
Students do not seem to be aware that some verbs are very commonly used figuratively, in addition to their more basic, literal meaning. For example, in the TeleNex Student Corpus, a search through two million words revealed that when students use see as a transitive verb, it is always followed by a physical object:
Suddenly, I saw a cockroach looking at me. (TeleNex Students)
In contrast, a search through a large corpus of modern English reveals that see is very commonly used with the metaphorical sense of "understand":
Oh yes, I can see how it feels. (Bank of English)
I don't see the point of all this. (Bank of English)
A: Oh, about noon on the following Saturday, is it? B: No, Sunday. A: Oh, on the Sunday … B: You don't count your first night of travel, you see … A: I see. (Bank of English)
Introduction
Metaphorical meanings
