My student Hanz in China writes:
Today I'm reviewing "What’s Your Lifestyle" part 2. There is a sentence which I don't understand. Could you please explain it for me? Thanks.
[Question edited by me]
My answer:
Well, this is a long, complex sentence, so I'm not surprised that it is causing difficulty. I'll break the part you're asking about into pieces and explain meaning of each piece as well as its grammar (in order to show the relationships between the pieces).
1. "Square on" modifies "facing", not "you're giving into it"
The "square on" part is an adverbial phrase that is being used an intensifier (a word that makes another word stronger) for the earlier verb-gerund "facing", not for the part "you're giving into it".
In English an adverb that is modifying a verb often comes after the object of the verb, even when the object is a long clause with its own subject and verb, like in the sentence you are asking about.
2. Meaning of "facing... square on"
That idea of that verb can be said in a few different ways with the same meaning. If you:
See:
Using the adverb phrase "square on" just makes the verb "facing" stronger, really emphasizing not avoiding or turning away from the problem. This phrase "square on" is usually only used to intensify the verb "face", not other verbs.
These related verbs / phrasal verbs originally come from the idea of getting ready to fight someone. At the start of a fight, the two fighters bravely face each other directly or "squarely", like this | | . They are level, parallel or "square" | | , not at an angle / \ .
See:
The first example sentence from the link below from the Youdao online dictionary is another example of the verb "face" with the intensifier "square on".
3. Meaning of "you're giving into it"
"It" here is your habit of eating (or your desire to eat) the naughty food. "Give in to" something means to be weak and let it defeat you, or to be weak and accept that you cannot control your desire for it.
See:
So "you're giving into it" means that you are letting your desire for the naughty food win / defeat you.
The "you're giving into it" clause is part of the object of the "facing ... square on" part.
4. Meaning of the whole sentence
And to make things even more complicated, the whole section from "facing..." to "...square on" is in fact a long gerund phrase that is the object of "dependent on...". This complete sentence is long and complex, with multiple parts.
So here's the meaning of the entire sentence:
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G.A.L.E.S.L. / joe3
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