3 ms·
In English we have a very context-sensitive timing word: 'soon'. Soon can mean 5 seconds from now or much more, depending on context. 'I'm leaving for the airp
by robotresearcher 9y ago
In English we have a very context-sensitive timing word: 'soon'. Soon can mean 5 seconds from now or much more, depending on context.
'I'm leaving for the airport soon.' This probably means within a few minutes or hours.
'Soon my kids will be all grown up and leaving for college.' This means anything up to a decade or more. Nobody would expect my son to leave today, even though the wording is the same as my airport declaration.
This rarely causes any trouble, despite the large difference in meaning.
- Aloha 9y agoThis is truly the direct parallel. "I'll be leaving soon" probably means within a half an hour. "It'll be done real soon now" - means possibly never, but probably eventually.
- cakedoggie 9y agoAnd soon is not given in an answer to how long something will take, unless you wanted to annoy someone. If I asked when will the ice cream get here, and they answered soon, I would ask them to clarify, or just leave, knowing they had no idea themselves.
- FooHentai 9y agoEven worse if you're from Yorkshire. "When will we get there?" "Directly" "How far is it?" "Down the road"
- Vanclief 9y agoI think you nailed it. Ahorita == Soon