meaning of sentence

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My mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers before she went out.

My mohter warned us not to let any strangers into the house before she went out.

Do both sentences have the same meaning?

Many thanks.

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Re: meaning of sentence

Yoong Liat wrote:

My mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers before she went out.

My mohter warned us not to let any strangers into the house before she went out.

Do both sentences have the same meaning?

Many thanks.

Not exactly. Opening the door isn't the same as letting someone in. But the intent of both statements is the same.

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Thanks, Roberta.

Does it mean that in writing an essay, I can use either one?

Thanks, again.

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Yes, I think you could use either one. But I prefer the "open door" one. If you don't open the door, you're not going to let anyone in. And I think it's more likely what a parent would say.

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Thanks, Roberta.

Juat to make sure I get your correctly, you prefer to use:

My mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers. (The preposition should be 'to', not 'for'. Am I right?)

Many thanks.

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"To" is correct. "For" suggests an act of politeness. "The woman was carrying many packages, so the boy opened the door for her."

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Thanks, Roberta.

Your guidance is much appreciated.

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Before she went out, my mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers

(If you still wanted to use that phrase (before she went out), put it at the beginning of the sentence, close to "mother", since it modifies that word.)

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SULLYFISH66 wrote:

Before she went out, my mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers

(If you still wanted to use that phrase (before she went out), put it at the beginning of the sentence, close to "mother", since it modifies that word.)

Could you please rephrase it so that I can have a clearer picture? Many thanks.

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Yoong Liat wrote:

SULLYFISH66 wrote:
Before she went out, my mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers

(If you still wanted to use that phrase (before she went out), put it at the beginning of the sentence, close to "mother", since it modifies that word.)
Could you please rephrase it so that I can have a clearer picture? Many thanks.

Yoong Liat, this sentence of yours is ambiguous. Sullyfish has noticed that.

Quote:

My mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers before she went out.

It appears to possibly say that your mother warned you not to open the door to any strangers before she went out, but that you were free to do so after she had gone.

Sullyfish suggests...

Before she went out, my mother warned us not to open the door to any strangers.

I suggest...

A slight re-arrangement and some punctuation. A suggestion for an addition is in square brackets.

My mother, before she went out, warned us not to open the door to strangers.[while she was away].

The word "any" is superfluous in my opinion.

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meaning of sentence

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