How would you interpret the last sentence?
Does it mean there were only three doctors and he knew all of them?
Or does it mean there were more than three doctors and he knew three of them?
Thanks. It’s from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Chapter 9).

the context:
We parked the cars beyond a brickyard. The ovens and some deep holes had been equipped as dressing stations. There were three doctors that I knew.

Question

How would you interpret the last sentence?
Does it mean there were only three doctors and he knew all of them?
Or does it mean there were more than three doctors and he knew three of them?
Thanks. It’s from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (Chapter 9).

the context:
We parked the cars beyond a brickyard. The ovens and some deep holes had been equipped as dressing stations. There were three doctors that I knew.

Answer

It sounds like there were PROBABLY more than three people, but he only knew three doctors. But it's impossible to know from the sentence. All the reader knows at this point is that he knew three doctors there.

Answer

It's not clear how many doctors there were. He knew three doctors, but there might have been more.

Answers · 2

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