exaggeration > amplification > overstating > creating a catastrophe out of a relatively minor issue.
One of my students is finally getting over a real complex about using “for” and “since” … sound familiar? She’s very, very fluent and native speakers admire her agility and culture in English. Right now, we’re doing memory work.
English teachers in France have traumatized millions and millions of their students over the years with this. I’m sure no other element has appeared in French schools’ English grammar tests as much as these three little words: for, since, ago.
(Depuis … le temps …. )
Sure, we say “for ages” and not “since ages” … but as the French say: “Il n’y a pas mort d’homme.” (No one’s died from it.)
And in English … need we insist on making a mountain out of a molehill ? … Sure try to get it right … but if you don’t … why make a mountain out of a molehill?
