Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: A simple exercise

Look at this simple exercise:
EXERCISE 2.1 - Vocabulary
Please match the words on the left with the meanings on the right.
1.      in a dream            a.   to continue; to not give up in a         
difficult situation
2.      distance                b.  until; up to that time
3.      to go on               c.   not real; while sleeping
4.      to last a lifetime     d.   how far away something is
5.      till                         e.   never ending; for all time
6.      to fear                  f.    for a long time; for all your life
7.      forever                 g.    not to be in danger; to be secure
8.      to be safe             h.    to be afraid; to worry about something
Do you think that the questions 4 and 7 are ambiguous and/or equivalent?
I think so, but my level is low, therefore I ask you.
In Italian I'd write:
to last a lifetime:   durare tutta una vita
forever:              per sempre ,  quindi "per tutta la vita"
For me  both are interchangeable:   4 - E, 7 - F  or  4-F, 7 - E
The other questions are very easy and I haven't had any problem.

 forever:              per sempre ,  quindi "per tutta la vita"
Secondo me la sfumatura e' proprio qui: "per tutta la vita" e' temporalmente 
inferiore a "per sempre", che presuppone che qualcosa persista anche dopo 
che qualcuno muoia.
Ciao
Fabio 

 For me  both are interchangeable:   4 - E, 7 - F  or  4-F, 7 - E
'Forever' č piů che una vita. Č anche piů che la vita di tuoi figli. 


7 = Per sempre.
Joe from Massachusetts

 wrote in message 
news:lgue72-...@massimo.max...

The fault is with the questions , Max - neither e nor f are exact 
grammatical equivalents for either 4 or 7 , so no wonder you are confused . 
'Forever'does not match 'never ending' (per sempre isn't the same as 
infinito , interminabile , senza fine) ; 'for a long time ; for all time' 
does not match 'to last a lifetime' ('durare tutta una vita'  is not the 
same as 'per tutta la vita' ) ; however , 'for a long time' does match 
(grammatically) 'forever' .
Some of the other pairs are faulty , too ; for instance , 'till' cannot 
possibly mean 'up to that time' . The whole exercise is sloppy .
I think the level of competence of the book is low . Ditch it - there must 
be others more carefully compiled .
Mike 

 forever:              per sempre ,  quindi "per tutta la vita"
Sadly, we don't live forever!

...

For instance, 
"Caesar, your empire will last forever."
is quite different from
"Caesar, your empire will last for a lifetime."
:-)
Besides, though both expressions are often used as hyperboles to mean
"a very long time" and not in their literal meaning, they are however
used in different contexts.
People say
"I'll love you forever" 
NOT "I'll love you for a lifetime",
while I think 
"Those are shoes that last for a lifetime"
is more common than
"Those are shoes that last forever."

 "Those are shoes that last forever."
It's more typical if equally untrue to say: Those shoes will last a
lifetime.

 lifetime.
Thanks :)

 wrote:

But they *do* last a lifetime: the lifetime of the shoes. It's right
here in the guarantee, sir, in small print. So you can't have a new
pair. Next customer?
-- 
"The past resembles the future as water resembles water"  Ibn Khaldun
My .
mac.com
 address is a spam sink.
If you wish to email me, try atlothian at blueyonder dot co dot uk

 be others more carefully compiled .
I don't think we should assume that the words provided can just be replaced
with the expressions on the right: "He kept crying, until John came back"
==> "He kept crying, up to that time John came back" (ugh!). 
Bye, FB
-- 
In any case, if you say 'I gotta go' at an important job interview you're
contributing to being allowed just that privilege.
(Tony the ice man on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)

 But they *do* last a lifetime: the lifetime of the shoes.
[...]
"Your pair of shoes will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Jim".
Bye, FB
-- 
"Suppose I say I'm not interested."
"Does five hundred dollars interest you?"
"Very much."
"Then bring it: it's an expensive restaurant".
(The Cheap Detective)

Tony the ice man affermň che:

Quindi 4-F, 7 - E sono le risposte esatte.
Grazie ad entrambi.

 Sadly, we don't live forever!
Ho sbagliato solo pechè mi sentivo immortale! :-)

 Grazie ad entrambi.
Moltiplicate "entrambi" X  "tutti voi" e dividete per 2 :-)
Ho scritto il post di sopra ieri e l'ho spedito oggi.