The sentence below is quoted from 'WINEBURG,OHIO'
I would like you to tell me the meaning if it.
Would you rewrite it into an easy sentence to understand ?
Also, I'd like to know the meaning of 'for' in this sentence, too.
Thank you for your time.

"You can't be too smart for Sarah."

Respostas

s0upx0n

1 jan 2017

Featured answer

Inglês (EUA)

Some of my explanation comes from hearing other people use similar phrases.

Technically, if someone says "You can't be too smart for Sarah" then it means the speaker thinks it is impossible for a person to be so smart that Sarah wouldn't like it.

The sentence does not technically imply anything about whether Sarah likes smart people/actions at all. Perhaps Sarah doesn't listen to anyone, so Sarah would not care how smart you are. However if Sarah doesn't listen to anything, then it would be odd to use that statement.

Sarah probably likes smart actions, comments, and people because that seems like the most likely time to use that sentence.

明けましておめでとうございます🎉。Best wishes for the new year.

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popcha

30 dez 2016

Japonês

In the meantime, I came up with a rewritten sentence, imagining the meaning.

How about this one : "You have to be so smart as to equal her."

What would you think about it ?

s0upx0n

30 dez 2016

Inglês (EUA)

In this case Sarah really likes when people are smart.

"Too smart for" a person would be if you are so smart that the person doesn't like you. Perhaps you make them feel stupid or talk about things they find boring.

So the speaker thinks it is impossible for a person to be so smart that Sarah wouldn't like it.

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popcha

31 dez 2016

Japonês

@s0upx0n Thank you very much for your reply.
I understood your explanation.

I have only one question.
You wrote, "In this case Sarah really likes when people are smart."
Does it mean that Sarah likes smart people ?
If it is right, I would like you to teach me how to read/understand that way from only one sentence. I can't get the nuance even though I read throughout the story. I think there's something that only native speakers can catch.

Oh, in Japan, it's January 1st !
I wish you good luck for the next year !