| Home |
| Search |
| Today's Posts |
|
#10
|
|||
|
|||
Jonathan, you're in good company
Sounds like "to be" or "not to be" to me.
Cheers Dave wrote: On Mon, 19 Apr 2004 19:13:36 -0700, "Jonathan Ganz" said: Nonsense! You don't seem to be able to work with the original quotation. That's OK. I'll try to move down to your level. Example A: "We hold these truths self-evident." Example B: "We hold these truths passionately." By your arguments, Example B should be written as "We hold these truths passionate". Even someone with your limited understanding of basic grammar should be able to see that you are wrong. On the contrary. By my argument Example B is correct as written. Why? Because there is no understood "to be" verb in Example B. Let me illustrate: Example A as Jefferson wrote it: "We hold these truths to be self-evident." Example A as Donal wrote if: "We hold these truths self-evident." --Both entirely correct, since the "to be," though not stated in Example A as Donal wrote it, is understood. "Self-evident" is an adjective referring to truths, not an adverb describing how the truths are held. The understood reflexive "to be" tells us that. Example B as Jefferson wouldn't have written it: "We hold these truths to be passionately."--incorrect, since he intends to describe how the truths are held rather than to describe the truths themselves. Example B as Donal wrote it: "We hold these truths passionately" --entirely correct, since there is no understood "to be." "Passionately" is not an adjective. It's an adverb telling how the truths are held. Once you get beyond the sixth grade level, Donal, the grammar requires a bit of subtlety and an ear for the language, not the application of simple formulaic rules, as you would perhaps have seen had you read the references I gave you earlier. Dave S/V Good Fortune CS27 Who goes duck hunting with Jamie Gorelick? |
| Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
| Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads
|
||||
| Thread | Forum | |||
| DESIGNING PORTAL CREATION DATABASE SHOPPING CART ANIMAT | General | |||
| A Dickens Christmas | General | |||
| Some off topic good news! | General | |||
Threaded Mode
