English term
two toddlers dragging behind
What is the image suggested: two toddlers carried on the back side of the pram, or two toddlers walking behind their mother (and pram)?
Jul 31, 2010 02:49: Sabine Akabayov, PhD changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): Tony M, Cilian O'Tuama, Sabine Akabayov, PhD
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Responses
walking (somewhat unwillingly) behind
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kmtext
35 mins
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Thanks, KMT!
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Bashiqa
: Know what it is sometimes like with my 2 grandkids!!
2 hrs
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Thanks, Bashiqa! Yup, I think we've all been there at some moment or another... ;-)
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jccantrell
: This is how I picture it. Whatever, the kids have other items on their agenda, just not walking with mom.
3 hrs
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Thanks, J-C!
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Tina Vonhof (X)
9 hrs
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Thanks, Tina!
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Rachel Fell
11 hrs
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Thanks, Rachel!
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Bernhard Sulzer
: with jc.
11 hrs
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Danke, Bernhard!
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Maja Basara
22 hrs
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Thanks, Maja!
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Sabine Akabayov, PhD
1 day 15 hrs
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Thanks, sibsab!
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Sarah Bessioud
6 days
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Also a qualified engineer
Native in: Tamil
Works in: English to Tamil, Tamil to English, French to Tamil, and 6 more.
two toddlers walking behind their mother (and pram)
Toddlers like to investigate many things they encounter but the mother would become impatient and ask them not to linger.
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Transitwrite
12 mins
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Thanks transitwrite
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Tina Vonhof (X)
9 hrs
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Rachel Fell
11 hrs
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B D Finch
: You seem to have transferred the focus from the toddlers' behaviour to that of their mother. They would certainly slow her down (act as a drag on her) as well as drag their feet.
21 hrs
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Discussion
Here are just two such definitions from NS OED:
2 v.i. Hang back with a retarding tendency; lag behind, esp. in singing or playing.
3 v.i. Trail or hang under its own weight while being moved; (of a door) catch on the ground.
No, of course, only def. 2 could be applied to the toddlers — it's just that the reflexive form is actually less common in EN then in FR, and often sounds forced; and since the intransitive form is possible, there's no need to complicate things...
In French or German this would have been expressed as reflexive verb in a more unambiguous manner, I think.
Regarding the Asker's question: I think it can only mean that the toddlers are dragging themselves, possibly hanging on to the pram's handle or other bits of it to help them along.