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user420
11-12-15, 11:37 PM
Hi, I need help from native american english speakers :)
Itīs about the following conversation:

Me: Is this Mr. X?
Person from USA: "I saw your picture and I could tell from the second I saw it itīs not Mr. X."
Me: What you mean with "second I saw"?
Person from USA: Itīs an expression
Person from USA: Like a second


What does "second" mean now?
a) He saw it on the very first picture in the first moment, so second = time second / moment
b) He saw it on the second picture

As I canīt contact the person anymore I need your help. There can also be typing errors due to auto-correction and so on.
Captain Steel
11-12-15, 11:42 PM
a) He saw it on the very first picture in the first moment, so second = time second / moment.

He's referring to the unit of time. i.e. He could tell it was not Mr. X immediately, as soon as he looked at the picture.
carlspackler
11-13-15, 12:06 AM
No schooling???
Yoda
11-13-15, 12:37 AM
No schooling???
He said he needed help from native English speakers, which implies English isn't his native language.
carlspackler
11-13-15, 12:42 AM
He said he needed help from native English speakers, which implies English isn't his native language.

No he said "American English".
If you really want to get pedantic,he really said "Native American English",so he's maybe looking for replies in Arapaho or Sioux .
Yoda
11-13-15, 12:46 AM
If you're going to be technical, he said "native american english speakers." But I'm not sure why either distinction is relevant: the point is that he's probably learned English as a second language, so asking a question about word usage doesn't imply a lack of schooling; if anything, it implies the opposite.
carlspackler
11-13-15, 12:51 AM
My bad.
Just taking the mickey.
Apologies to all I have offended(again).:)
user420
11-13-15, 01:04 PM
Thank you for your fast answers. And yes, english is only my second language.

And also his own explanations speak for the theory of second = moment here, right?
Person from USA: Itīs an expression
Person from USA: Like a second
Yoda
11-13-15, 01:05 PM
Yeah, he definitely meant "in that moment." As in, it took virtually no time at all for him to recognize it.