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Safrar Posted 9 years ago
Vocabulary

Jump as a transitive verb

For years, I've tried (gently) to introduce my son to the subtle charms of tennis. Not much luck. Boys of a certain age like power. Control? Not so much. When we jumped a tennis court, he took far more pleasure from hitting a Pujolsian blast over the fence than from guiding it within the parameters of the court. Nadal was all well and good; but he was no David Wright.


What does "we jumped a tennis court" mean? Did they play tennis or watch Nadal's match at that time?


Thanks.



  

Top answer

Most verbs in English can be either transitive or intransitive. " I've never heard the phrase "jumped a tennis court" before. But this might mean, for example: "commandeered a (public) tennis court," or "climbed over the fence of a locked court," or "took over a tennis court," etc.

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2 Answers
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Most verbs in English can be either transitive or intransitive. "Jump" can be transitive, as in: "He jumped me and started slugging me."


I've never heard the phrase "jumped a tennis court" before. But this might mean, for example: "commandeered a (public) tennis court," or "climbed over the fence of a locked court," or "took over a tennis court," etc. But the idea here is clear

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SafrarWhen we jumped a tennis court,

Maybe the author used it metaphorically 'borrowing' from "to jump rope".