‘There is no A without B’, which one is the antecedent？
I’m reading a statement that:
“in nature, there is no representation without evolution, and perhaps there is no evolution beyond a certain point without the capacity to represent the world.”

My understanding is roughly like this
If there is no evolution, then there is no representation.…

But the translations (English to Chinese) suggested by translate engines both from Bing and Google are just the opposite of my understanding, they are roughly like
If there is no representation, then there is no evolution.

It makes me confused. In the sentence like ‘There is no A without B’, which one is the antecedent, and which is the outcome?

Question

‘There is no A without B’, which one is the antecedent？
I’m reading a statement that:
“in nature, there is no representation without evolution, and perhaps there is no evolution beyond a certain point without the capacity to represent the world.”

My understanding is roughly like this
  If there is no evolution, then there is no representation.…

But the translations (English to Chinese) suggested by translate engines both from Bing and Google are just the opposite of my understanding, they are roughly like
   If there is no representation, then there is no evolution.

It makes me confused. In the sentence like ‘There is no A without B’, which one is the antecedent, and which is the outcome?

Answer

You need to look at the context and make up your own mind.

"There is no A without B" can mean...

- B must come before A (antecedent)
- B is necessary for A to exist (maybe an antecedent)
- A must include B (note: there is no antecedent here; it means A and B always happen together)

Which one fits your understanding best?

Answers · 2

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!