English French Spanish German Chinese 简体 Chinese 繁體 Japanese Korean Arabic

Vocabulary/Translations - meaning of this word ? - Language Exchange


Category: Vocabulary/Translations
Discussion: meaning of this word ?

All messages in this discussion:
# Message Posted By
232806
meaning of this word ?
hi,i read this sentence in Maud marta book:"Bits of pink,of blue,white,yellow,green,purple,brown,black,carried by jerky little stems of brown or yellow"
please tell me what is the meaning of"Bits"?and "jerky little stems"?


Language pair: English; English
sara
.

August 20, 2017

Reply
232810
Re:meaning of this word ?
bits means "small amounts" or "small pieces"

"jerky little stems" in this context is probably indicating that the stems are rough, not very straight, uneven, unstraight, zig-zag.. etc.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232806
Chad
August 20, 2017

Reply
232814
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

“bits” here means “small amounts”. “Jerky” could mean “subject to sudden, uncontrollable movements” or “unpleasant, disagreeable”. “Stems” has several meanings; it could mean “plant stalks”, or “narrow parts of certain manmade objects”, or something else, depending upon context. What is this sentence in “Maud Martha” describing?

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232806
Chris
August 21, 2017

Reply
232823
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Thank you Chad&Chris.
i think writter here is describing a windy sence.
"up the street,mixed in the wind,blew the childeren,and turned the corner onto the brownish-red brick school court.it was wonderful.Bits of pink,of blue,...carried by jerky little stems of brown or yellow or brown-black,blew by the unhandsome gray and decay of the double apartment building..."
please tell me a summery of this paragraf.i cant understand the meaning


Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232814
sara
.

August 22, 2017

Reply
232833
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

in my view, the author is imagining the children who are going to school as being blown towards school by the wind. The bits of several colors might refer to the children’s hats, and the “jerky little stems” might refer to the children’s coats, with the jerkiness being due to the children running, then stopping, then running again in different directions in the school’s courtyard. The bits of colors being carried by the “stems” suggest that the children are being compared to flowers, although flowers aren’t usually blown somewhere by the wind.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232823
Chris
August 24, 2017

Reply
232841
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Chris,you are such kind man.thank's for your help.
is it possible that "Bit's"refers to dandelion's?
because in last chapter the author described dandelions!
but dandelions arent colorful!and dandelion's stem is green!
have you seen colorful dandelion?

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232833
sara
.

August 24, 2017

Reply
232861
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

to me, it is unlikely that “bits” refers to dandelions, because of the reasons that you had noted. However, I haven’t read this book, so I don’t know the full context of these chapters in this book.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232841
Chris
August 26, 2017

Reply
232868
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi chris
i asked my teacher about this,she said "bits"are clothes wich the wind grabed them.
"up the street mixed in the wind blew the childeren,and turned the corner onto the brownish-red brick school court.it was wonderful.bits of pink of blue,white,green,purple,brown,black,,carried by jerky little stems of brown or yellow or brown-black,blew by the unhandsome gray and decay of the double-apartment building,past the little plots of dirt and scanty grass that held up their narrow brave banners:PLEASE KEEP OFF THE GRASS.there were lives in the buldings.past the tiny lives the children blew."

do you think bits are clothes?


Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232861
sara
.

August 27, 2017

Reply
232878
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

the bits could be clothes. What does your teacher believe the stems to be?

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232868
Chris
August 29, 2017

Reply
232882
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Chris,

she said stems are stalks,and wind mixed clothes&stalks together

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232878
sara
.

August 29, 2017

Reply
232886
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

the part of the story that you had quoted said that the wind blew the children rather than just their clothes, and that the bits were carried by the stems rather than merely mixed with them. Unless some other part of the story gives more details of that scene, I don’t understand the basis of your teacher’s interpretation of the bits as clothes and the stems as stalks.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232882
Chris
August 31, 2017

Reply
232892
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
hi Chris

my teacher said that childeren blew means,childeren make a noise.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232886
sara
.

September 1, 2017

Reply
232902
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

the verb “blow” has many possible meanings. One of its meanings is “to make a sound as a result of being blown”, e.g. “The ships’ horns blew in the harbor”, but that meaning isn’t often used about children. In my view, the more likely meaning is “to be propelled by an air current”, since the same meaning also applies to “Past the tiny lives the children blew” — blowing past something strongly suggests being propelled by the wind, like fallen leaves in the autumn.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232892
Chris
September 2, 2017

Reply
232962
Re:Re:Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Jean,i cant type big part of this book,
can you please download this book and read chapter2?

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232901
sara
.

September 10, 2017

Reply
232963
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Chris,
i really confused.i think this Maud Marta is a difficult book even for native!

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232902
sara
.

September 10, 2017

Reply
232993
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

some authors have a more “poetic” style than others. If this book was written in such a style, then the interpretation can vary for each reader.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232963
Chris
September 13, 2017

Reply
233006
Re:Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi,Chris
yes this book is poetic.
and translating poem is so difficult.
have you ever read persian poems?i recommand you read Molana or Khayam.their poems are so wonderful

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 232993
sara
.

September 14, 2017

Reply
233015
Re: meaning of this word ?
Hi Sara,

I’ve only read English translations of Persian poems, and only those by the two poets whom you had recommended. (Molānā is better known by the name Rūmī in English.) Since I haven’t studied Persian, I can’t fully appreciate their brilliance.

Language pair: English; English
This is a reply to message # 233006
Chris
September 15, 2017

Reply

Bulletin Board Home



close Make this an App. Tap more_vert or and 'Add to Home Screen'