to me, they seem the same, but surely there’s a subtle nuance.

like, for example, i’ve heard: “i thought he died.” and “i thought he was dead” and they seem like synonyms.

  • Freshparsnip@lemm.ee
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    15 days ago

    He died is describing the event of him dying, he’s dead means he is currently dead. However, they may as well be synonyms because I can’t think of any realistic situation where one is true and not the other

  • Steve@communick.news
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    17 days ago

    They aren’t direct synonyms. As one refers to an event, while the other refers to a state of being. However the confusion is easy, as either invariably involves the other, they can both safely inferred.