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If anything

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Latest post Sun, Oct 18 2009 4:21 PM by Anonymous. 2 replies.
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Pb03  +  946092 Sun, 18 Oct 09 03:23 PM
Hi guys,

 

What could be the meaning of the words "if anything" in this context?

("They have something related to the writing" OR 

"If I say which case it is..."?) 

 

Thanks~!

pb

 

--

 

They are incorrect because they have little, if anything, to do with the main idea of the writing.
Pb03
Joined on Tue, Apr 3 2007
Full Member 258
Soka  +  946103 Sun, 18 Oct 09 03:43 PM
It implies that basically they have nothing to do with the main idea of the writing, yet if they have anything to do, its very little (insignificant).
Soka
Joined on Mon, Dec 10 2007
Full Member 186
The Lord prefers common-looking people.That is why he makes so many of them.
Anonymous, 36 days ago
I think the wording of your sentence implies something that happened in the past or is ongoing from the past, which would make the "little...  to do" part past tense. If you want to say they are incorrect in the present, it would be better to say something like


They are wrong because they do not understand the main idea of the writing. (incorrect is overly formal here)


Something that has already happended, implied by "little... to do" would be


They are incorrect because they had little, if anything, to do with the main idea of the story. (I think most people would use wrong or mistaken here, rather than incorrect.)


Little means little, and "if anything" means maybe nothing at all.

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