NL888 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
When I was just last in New York?
Does "When I was just last in New York" mean "when in my life it was the last time that I was in New York"?
Context:
"When I was just last in New York, I went for a walk, leaving Fifth Avenue and the Business section behind me, into the crowded streets near the Bowery. And while I was there, I had a sudden feeling of relief and confidence. There was Bergson’s élan vital—there was assimilation causing life to exert as much pressure, though embodied here in the shape of men, as it has ever done in the earliest year of evolution: there was the driving force of progress"
Context:
"When I was just last in New York, I went for a walk, leaving Fifth Avenue and the Business section behind me, into the crowded streets near the Bowery. And while I was there, I had a sudden feeling of relief and confidence. There was Bergson’s élan vital—there was assimilation causing life to exert as much pressure, though embodied here in the shape of men, as it has ever done in the earliest year of evolution: there was the driving force of progress"
Top answer
In this case "last" means "most recently". It does not imply "last time ever". "just" adds the impression that this visit happened not very long ago.
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In this case "last" means "most recently". It does not imply "last time ever". "just" adds the impression that this visit happened not very long ago.
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Thanks.
Does "There was Bergson’s élan vital—there was assimilation causing life to exert as much pressure" mean "there was vital force for life in my body - that is, when there was much pressure on me, there was equally much impetus to push me to go ahead"?
Does "There was Bergson’s élan vital—there was assimilation causing life to exert as much pressure" mean "there was vital force for life in my body - that is, when there was much pressure on me, there was equally much impetus to push me to go ahead"?
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"Bergson’s élan vital", according to Wonkipedia, is "a kind of vital impetus which explains evolution in a less mechanical and more lively manner, as well as accounting for the creative impulse of mankind". Probably you already knew that, or looked it up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Be
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