Как правильно сказать по-английски "Я не понимал, насколько было уже поздно"?
Вот одна распространённая (common,- т.к., видимо, не "у них", а у нас в коммуналках при недоразвитом коммунизме) ошыпка:
Until I saw the clock I hadn't understood how late it was.
Until I saw the clock I hadn't realized how late it was.
understand = know or grasp the meaning of something:
I found the lecture hard to understand
realize = become aware (of something)
As you understand, I don't have much free time.
As you know, I don't have much free time.
as you (will) know/ appreciate/ realize/ gather, NOT understand
You have to know our culture in order to understand us deeply
You have to know our culture in order to understand us properly.
You have to know our culture in order to really understand us.
Reading helps us to understand the world more deeply
Reading helps us to understand the world better.
understand sb/sth properly/better; fully/really understand sb/sth, NOT
deeply
'Make sure that you understand the instructions properly before you begin.'
'Nobody fully understands how the drug actually works.'
Note the alternative:
'Reading helps us to develop our understanding of the world.'
realise (BrE) = realize
No sooner was she back at home than she realized her mistake.
It was a meeting whose importance I did not realize at the time.
'Do you think Andrew realizes?' - 'I hope so. (or 'I hope not.')
I understand (= I hear) you're moving to a new job. ~ Yes, that's right.
I gather you didn't like the party. ~ What makes you say that?
I realized that I'd been overworking, so I decided to take a couple of days' holiday.
We started going out together just to have fun, as friends. Later on we both realized
that there was more than just friendship.
If you realize you're lost, you wonder where you are.
On the plane home, I suddenly realized that I had left my coat at the hotel.
An old lady saw Tom and realized that he was the little boy that the police were searching for.
I realized how different everybody's personality is.
The criminal mind is not always easy to realize.
The criminal mind is not always easy to understand.
I didn't realize the meaning of 'junk mail'.
I didn't understand the meaning of 'junk mail'.
The school year is divided into three terms, as you realize.
The school year is divided into three terms, as you know.
Nobody realized whether he was coming.
Nobody knew whether he was coming.
Our own mistakes are sometimes difficult to realize.
Our own mistakes are sometimes difficult to recognize.
I'm sure you will realize the song when you hear it.
I'm sure you will recognize the song when you hear it.
The headmaster realized his threat and sent the children home.
The headmaster carried out his threat and sent the children home.
Many people in developing countries do not realize family planning.
Many people in developing countries do not practise family planning.
When realize means 'make something actually happen or become real',
it is usually used with words such as
ambition, intention, expectation, hope, dream, fear:
'I feel confident that the high expectations I have of my new job will be realized.'
On a rural road (на проселочной дороге)
a state trooper (местный полицейский)
pulled this farmer over (остановил /машину/ фермера)
and said: “Sir, do you realize your wife fell out of the car several miles back?”
To which the farmer replied, “Thank God, I thought I had gone deaf!”
Песенка Paradise: