student asking question

Please tell me why "surpass" was used here among the synonyms (over, go beyond, etc.) Is there any special reason for it?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Excellent question. You are correct that "surpass" means to go beyond, but more specifically it is used to mean to outdo someone or something. The word is generally used when you want to give emphasis to the action. While you could just say "outdid" or "passed" here, saying "surpass" implies that the person, in this case, Bill Gates, had really gone beyond what anyone could have expected. Ex: You've really surpassed my expectations. Ex: Her grades have really surpassed all the other students.

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