I dont understand the meaning of the sentance: is it

i dont understand the meaning of the sentence:
is it that the students are late to classroom?
or is it that the students are not understand the matirial the are learning?

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I don’t know this phrase, but given the context, it looks to me that it means they come to class late.

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Straggle means to linger behind or wander off. They had trouble taking attendance because there were “stragglers” who came in late… which means these students would have to be added to the attendance list after it was already completed.

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To straggle in late means to come late, but without haste.
To struggle with something/someone means to have a difficult time with something/someone.

straggle and struggle differ in the sound of the vowel after the “r”.
straggle in, straggling in, struggle, struggling, struggle in…all should sound different from each other.

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@maya - To straggle in late does mean to come in late. However, simply because someone is late doesn’t mean they necessarily “straggled in” or are “stragglers”. I could be late for a meeting, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I straggled in.

The reason for this is because “straggle” has the nuance here of people coming in at irregular intervals. It sometimes includes the feeling of “lingering” - suggesting the speed of entrance is also slow.

We say “the children straggled behind them”, meaning the children walked slowly behind someone/people in a rambling/wandering/meandering way. The scene is of children not walking in a straight line behind, but wandering around as they follow.

We can also say “straggled cottages” or “the trees are straggled over the hillside” for example, indicating they are spread out randomly/irregularly.

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Click on the “Lesson Forum” link to see the thread from the last time this was discussed (if you want more discussion on it).

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