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Put it off?

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Time said on Wednesday that it chose Obama this year for having the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour, and for showing the competence that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off.

How does the bold part work in the sentence?
I have no idea.

Please, could you help me?

Thanks.

Osaka, Japan

Senior Member 2,805

Please feel free to correct any words I write. LiJ

Mister Micawber:

.
...makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off = makes Americans hopeful that he might successfully accomplish it.

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Liveinjapan:

Thanks, Mr M.
I was so stupid that I took 'pull' for 'put'.

But sorry, I still don't get it.

for showing the competence that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off.

Is 'that' a relative pronoun for 'the competence'?

Is 'hopeful' an adjective?

What does it mean?

Osaka, Japan

Senior Member 2,805

Please feel free to correct any words I write. LiJ

Philip:

pull it off = be successful at whatever one is trying [set phrase: don't try to parse it]

[put it off = postpone]

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Cool Breeze:

for showing the competence that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off.[/quote]

Is 'that' a relative pronoun for 'the competence'?

Is 'hopeful' an adjective?

What does it mean?

[/quote]

I hope you don't mind my butting in. (Mr M is probably having an evening snack. smile

)That is indeed a relative pronoun whose antecedent the competence is. Hopeful is an adjective. The conjunction that is missing: ... makes Americans hopeful [that] he might pull it off. It is a vague formal object, which is required by the phrasal verb pull ... off. It refers to Obama's attempt to succeed.

CB

Finland

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Newt Gingrich, criticizing Mitt Romney, his rival for the US presidency: "He speaks French!"

Liveinjapan:

Understand!
Thanks so much, Philip and CB.

I hope to be using this type of expression smoothly in the future! big smile

Osaka, Japan

Senior Member 2,805

Please feel free to correct any words I write. LiJ

khoff:

I hope to be using this type of expression smoothly in the future!

I hope you can pull it off!

Veteran Member 5,341

Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert). FRIEND REQUESTS WILL BE IGNORED. Don't take it personally -- I just don't understand the whole idea of...

Liveinjapan:

I hope you can pull it off!

I'm glad you said that! big smile

By the way, do I have to make sure my tongue touches or is very close to the back of my upper front teeth when I say 'pull it off'? Otherwise I think my pronounciation of 'pull it off' may sounds 'put it off' to people. phew

EDIT: for both /t/ and /l/ the tip of your tongue touches the area behind your upper teeth but the positios of the sides of your tongue are diffrenent, right?

Osaka, Japan

Senior Member 2,805

Please feel free to correct any words I write. LiJ

Put it off?

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