@luochan: I hate to bothe r u but another confusing words knock on word, can u give some example on how to use it? I understood the meaning but don't know how to use it.

relyat08

21 ago 2017

Inglés (US)

@hellonativeperson It usually implies that the swim was fairly short. Yep. :)

relyat08

21 ago 2017

Inglés (US)

@hellonativeperson It is a colloquial saying. It's a way to follow up on something positive generally to ward off bad luck, or to encourage good luck to continue. If you can't find wood within a short period of time, it's a sign that bad things may happen. It's entirely silly superstition. :)

Examples:

I'm going to go to the baseball game tomorrow with my friends, knock on wood.

I just got called by 3 of the 4 companies I interviewed with. The 4th company should be calling me with good news any minute now, knock on wood.

Knock on wood, that the weather stays clear for the rest of the day.

chandler-

21 ago 2017

Chino simplificado

@relyat08: oh, I got it clearly now, but why when I put forward some examples, such as I probably fail exam, knock on wood. but a naive speaker said its wrong and it's the opposite, why? does it just mean “God bless you”, why im wrong.

relyat08

21 ago 2017

Inglés (US)

@hellonativeperson Exactly. It is only meant for positive things.
Saying:
"I will probably fail my exam, knock on wood"
suggests that you WANT to fail your exam. :O
Instead of that, you might say:
"With my luck, I will probably fail the exam."
or if you want to use "knock on wood" you could say:
"I am definitely going to pass the exam, knock on wood."

It doesn't mean "God bless you", but you could translate it as "Lord willing".

chandler-

21 ago 2017

Chino simplificado

@relyat08: oh, bro. you are awesome. I absolutely got it now!
knock on wood means you hope the thing develop the situation you just talked about, if it's a positive side, you hope it will be good, but its a negative side, you hope it will be bad, up to you direction.
for example, if I said I fail the exam, knock on wood.
emmmm, maybe others thought I'm insane, otherwise how could a normal person wanna fail? in fact I hope I can pass it. so its a contradiction.
the wrong way
I probably fail the exam, knock on wood.
the correct way
I possibly pass the exam, knock on wood.
😃😃😃