English grammar is simply too complex to memorize... What is

English grammar is simply too complex to memorize…
What is the meaning of the “simply”? It just means too complex or not?

It is quite simple: English grammar is too complex :slight_smile:

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That sentence means …

English grammar is too complex to memorize.

The word “simply” isn’t needed.

But English speakers will throw words like “simply” or “just” into sentences to emphasize the point we’re trying to make.

English grammar is simply too complex to memorize.
English grammar is just too complex to memorize.

If you listen AJ, you can hear that he adds some emphasis on “simply” while talking.

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Good explanation! I agree that in this instance it is used to emphasize “too complex.” In this meaning, it can also be thought of as meaning “absolutely” or “really.” Both of those words could be substituted in the sentence. Note the placement of these adverbs. The word order is very important.

Absolutely, I am really good at tossing those words into sentences.

is too complex = is simply too complex

“simply” adds emphasis

Like the German particle words? If it is the case, then I’ve learned something that I hardly notice in my native language.

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simply means simple ; something whjch is easy to do

“Absolutely” is, “no doubt,” a synonym for “simply.”

I wonder if the writer used the word “simply” intentionally or unintentionally to argue about the not-so-“simple” nature of English grammar.

I don’t think so. The ‘simply’ is this sentence looks to me to just be for emphasis.

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
In this sentence, I suppose, the word “absolutely” is used intentionally, even though “simply” is a synonym for it. “Absolute power simply corrupts” is less convincing.

Hmm, the way I have always read the phrase “absolute power corrupts absolutely”, it would not be synonymous with “absolute power simply corrupts”. I always took ‘absolutely’ to mean ‘completely’ or ‘entirely’.

Yutaka --Oh, my. These discussions of English certainly reveal its complexity.
Here “absolute,” the adjective, means “unlimited.” “Absolutely,” the adverb, is used in this instance to mean “completely” or “wholly.” In the sentence “Absolute power corrupts absolutely” neither word is used to emphasize, in the way we have been talking about “simply.” [Of course, “simply” also has other meanings, some of which are related to the adjective “simple.”] I will stop there. :slight_smile:

Yutaka -It’s wonderful how alert you are to plays on words. It this were Shakespeare or poetry, maybe this might be true, but I agree with ColinJohnstone that this is not really something you could expect here. The use of “simply” to a native speaker in this context does not resonate with the meaning of “simple.”

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Of course, ‘simply’ can be used to mean that something is simple in some contexts. For example, if you are trying to get somewhere in some strange Japanese city, you might say

  • We can get to the sushi restaurant if we simply go down Yutaka Street and take a right.

In this case, ‘simply’ does imply that the thing you are saying is simple.

I found a dictionary for English Learners! Here is the entry for “simply.”

“English grammar is simply too complex to memorize…”
I think that “simply” means “no doubt” or “absolutely.”
Can’t you paraphrase the above sentence like this?
“It is a simple or absolute fact that English grammar is too complex to memorize.”
The statement describes such a “simple” fact that one needs no further argument.
It is a “simple,” self-evident fact that English grammar can by no means considered very “simple”.

If it’s not a simple, self-evident fact, you may write like this:
English grammar is allegedly very complex.

I don’t think ‘simply’ means the same as ‘no doubt’. That would imply that the knowledge is certain, whereas ‘simply’ is just there to emphasise the statement.