"John of Aix" <j.murphy@nospamlibertysurf.fr> wrote in message news:<cb0qpc$olu$1@news-reader2.wanadoo.fr>...
> I beg to differ.
>
> I can't reply to the rest as you have cut the context and I can't remember
> it.
Oops. I'm sorry. Here is the original sentence:
"Doris, be careful that the water is not hot," Smith said.
I can see where it might technically be interpreted as you say, but
this would be a silly way for a native speaker to express it. It
sounds like the way a foreigner might warn Doris about hot water (I
can even hear the accent as I read it).
I would probably say it, "Doris, be careful of that water; it may be
hot", or, "Doris, be careful; that water may be [too] hot".
The way it is stated implies that Doris has control over the water as
to whether it is hot or not and that is what she should be careful
about. It does not appear that she is being warned about the water
itself.
It's an idiomatic thing. The sentence makes perfect sense one way and
sounds strange and unnatural the other way to a native English
speaker.
Don
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