I learned that a deserted building can be used to mean an abandoned building. Can it simply mean there is no people inside it at a specific moment?
Such as: Our office is always deserted after seven o'clock in the evening. None of my colleagues would like to work overtime.
a "deserted" building vs. an "abandoned" building
- wenhan1122
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- 註冊時間: 週三 8月 20, 2008 3:29 pm
Re: a "deserted" building vs. an "abandoned" building
From google's dictionary, it doesn't look like so
http://www.google.com/dictionary?aq=f&l ... rted&hl=en
"left by a person or people who do not intend to return"
http://www.google.com/dictionary?aq=f&l ... rted&hl=en
"left by a person or people who do not intend to return"
The real peace is not merely the absence of warfare, but the presence of justice
Re: a "deserted" building vs. an "abandoned" building
I guess it's a metaphor or an exaggeration.
Re: a "deserted" building vs. an "abandoned" building
According toMacmillan Dictionary:Kooper 寫:I learned that a deserted building can be used to mean an abandoned building. Can it simply mean there is no people inside it at a specific moment?
Such as: Our office is always deserted after seven o'clock in the evening. None of my colleagues would like to work overtime.
a deserted place has no people in it (空無一人的).Therefore "deserted" can be referred to an office.
When used about places that have not had people FOR A LONG TIME (廢棄的), it's a synomym of "abandoned".
However, the predicative usage of "deserted" seems to be rare. [often adjective + noun]
[ be + adjective] An example appears in Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, not in Macmillan Englidh Ditionary, Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, Collins cobuild Learner's Dictionary, Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Also, [from Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English] The old mine now stands completely deserted. [Here "deserted: is a complement after the verb "stands'.
"Deserted" also means 被遺棄的. E.g. a deserted village, deserted wives.
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