xiaokaoy
'Do you mean' or 'Did you mean'? 'What I mean' or 'What I meant'? In conversation, if you don't catch what your partner just said and then try to guess, would you say 'Do you mean ...' or 'Did you mean'? After that, would your partner say 'What I mean is' or 'What I meant is' in reply? A: ..... B: Do/Did you mean...? Or: What do/did you mean by ...? A: What I mean/meant is/was ....? Which of the two words around each slash would you choose?
2013年1月11日 07:36
解答 · 6
1
B: Do/Did you mean...? -I feel "Do you mean..." is the better choice when I try to think about what I would say... Example: "Do you mean she isn't getting married?" Did kinda makes it sound past tense to me... for example: "What you said earlier... did you mean she isn't getting married after all?" So I would use "do" if you're asking immediately after. Did if you are going back to something they said a little while ago. Or: What do/did you mean by ...? -This seems to me to be more asking them to elaborate/explain what they just said further. Again, do is better if it is the last thing they said. Did is better if its something they said a few sentences ago and you're referring back to it. Overall, which one you use "Do/Did you mean...? Or: What do/did you mean by ...?" really depends on the context and what you're trying to ask so I can't tell you without that. A: What I mean/meant is/was ....? -Again, I believe if you asked something he/she just said, they will say "What I mean is...," but if you're asking something they said in the past, they will say "What I meant was..." Hope this is correct/helps. Just from my ear and thinking about what I'd say.
2013年1月11日
You can use either without any substantial change in meaning.
2013年1月11日
That depends. If I am talking now and need to explain my words I use 'what I mean is that...'. When it is something that I said a while ago and someone asks me what I wanted to say at that time I use 'what i meant was...'
2013年1月11日
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