Translation help: Is there an Esperanto word for "knock down"?
од Polaris, 26. јул 2009.
Поруке: 4
Језик: English
Polaris (Погледати профил) 26. јул 2009. 07.42.36
mnlg (Погледати профил) 26. јул 2009. 08.37.20
detrui, batfaligi, nenioigi, batdetrui, malkonstrui, disfaligi.
Donniedillon (Погледати профил) 26. јул 2009. 11.10.17
tommjames (Погледати профил) 26. јул 2009. 11.47.00
mnlg:I might not be skilled enough in English to be aware of the subtle difference between those two verbsIf you're interested, to my native ear the difference between them is twofold.. the manner in which the object in question was brought down, and the intention behind it.
To knock something down would imply forceful impacts from the outside, and it could also be accidental: He fell on a pile of tin cans and knocked them down. You could knock a building down with a wrecking ball, or you could knock a glass over with ur hand.
By contrast tearing something down seems to imply something more deliberate: They tore down those ugly old apartment blocks last week. It might also imply pulling motions, or that it was done in a somewhat agressive haphazard manner.
But of course it doesn't always have to be like that and they may even be completely interchangeable in many cases.