 Re: What do the sentences mean?
1. Yes. As all the verbs are in the past tense (would = used to) and the time period is "all her life", it indicates that she's dead. If she were still alive, the verbs would be present tense and the sentence would read :
My mother has been subject to migraines all her life. She has these terrific headaches which last up to 24 hours.
2. Could be either. As I said in the first message : subject to = affected by. So you could interpret it either way. You'd need to follow it up with precise questions to find out - eg How often does it happen?
3. Again, as I said : subject to = affected by. So here it means that tax is added to the price.
Subject to only means affected by. It's the context that tells you exactly how, how often etc. You can usually interpret it by using your knowledge of the world - as with your question about prices But if the information is not in the context, you need to ask for more information. |