por Henry Cunha » 14 Out 2009, 18:10
I think it's more a matter of context and common sense. If you're at a hot stuffy bar wearing your little black dress, and you say "I'm hot," there is every likelihood every male around you will give preference to one meaning. However, if you're home with family and friends, or at work, and the place is too warm, and you're wearing not the little black dress but regular clothes, there's little likelihood of a sexual inference.
This reminds me of the "types of grammar" discussions of the mid-80s, when there was an attempt to teach a more fundamental view of grammar, that outlawed expressions like "I'm hot," since what is high is the temperature that you feel, and therefore the more sensoble statement would be "I feel hot."
Other exs:
I'm Henry -> I call myself Henry
Roses are red -> Roses display the colour red.
I'm hot -> I feel too much heat
I'm hot -> You melt looking at me
There was even an attempt to retire the verb TO BE, and to use only a subset of English known as "E-prime." It's really a marvelous exercise to try to write English without the verb TO BE. Check out "E-prime" on Google, even if it's no longer a hot topic.
Regards
You can table a book, and you can book a table.
