Thursday, November 16, 2006

I Believe


This afternoon, I told the class, “我不相信你们会做得不好(I do not believe that you all would do it not well)”. Some students commented that I should phrase it as, “我相信你们会做得好 (I believe that you all could do well).” I told them the former is suitable for writings with the set requirement of a high minimum number of words, while the later is best for summary writings with a low maximum number.

In this case, however, they should have different implications. Not my gibberish, I hoped, product of my high temperature these few days.