Search found 9 matches

by raymond
Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:13 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Seeking advice
Replies: 22
Views: 52663

Gailr wrote: You have my sympathies, as we are apt to start throwing erasers, shooting spitwads, and passing notes with funny drawings with little or no provocation at any moment. I do enjoy reading witty comment with unexpected twist to lines and I don’t mind humor overflowing into excited merrimen...
by raymond
Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:01 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Seeking advice
Replies: 22
Views: 52663

BTW, what is the it in question. Tell us all! Just wish to find a topic for a paper, that’s all. I thought I could rely on the concept of hypotaxis and of parataxis to explain the usage of (3), in lieu of the concept of “inoperative redundancy” (to use Sluggo's terminology). Judging from your reply...
by raymond
Sat Sep 30, 2006 3:32 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Seeking advice
Replies: 22
Views: 52663

Seeking advice

Just wish to pick your brain again, if I may. A hypotaxis like (1) “There is a gentleman at the door who wants to speak to you” in which the two ideas (i.e., “there is a gentleman at the door” and “a gentleman wants to speak to you”) are linked together with a formal sign of subordination (i.e., “wh...
by raymond
Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:10 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Compulsory or optional?
Replies: 18
Views: 48945

[quote="tcward"] 'Twould be Raymond's obligation to defend the statement. ;)

Hi, Tim,
Thanks for the suggestion. Please see the reply that I have just posted to Sluggo. In my reply, I tried to "explain," but not to "defend," my statement.:)


Ray.
by raymond
Wed Aug 16, 2006 4:02 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Compulsory or optional?
Replies: 18
Views: 48945

Re: Compulsory or optional?

[Not to get technical for its own sake, but this prevents its meaning from coming across. Is it a statement about what we do or is it about what they do? Is it about nodding or or is it about staring? What choice does "or" refer to? I can't tell. :( Hi, Sluggo, I will make another attempt...
by raymond
Tue Aug 15, 2006 10:07 am
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Compulsory or optional?
Replies: 18
Views: 48945

Re: Compulsory or optional?

[ quote="sluggo"]First part speaks of a nod; second part of a stare. How are they related? Two different statements are being made. With what choice is " or " presenting us? Sorry for the confusion. I suspect I didn’t express myself well in the first place. The “that in asterisk”...
by raymond
Sat Aug 12, 2006 9:31 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Compulsory or optional?
Replies: 18
Views: 48945

That's not to say that #2 is awful, but the farther the distance between verbs, the less easy it is for readers to link clauses in their heads back to an earlier verb. I got a bit confused. Correct me if I am wrong. If the distance between verbs is a factor, then the omission of that in asterisk (a...
by raymond
Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:11 pm
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Compulsory or optional?
Replies: 18
Views: 48945

Quote:
[I somewhat prefer 1)]

Will appreciate your reasonings.

Quote:
[..."interpret a person's nod as an affirmative..." ]

I presume that in this case I need to adjust pronouns from "they" to "he." Isn't it?
by raymond
Fri Aug 11, 2006 10:36 am
Forum: Grammar
Topic: Compulsory or optional?
Replies: 18
Views: 48945

Compulsory or optional?

In the following two sentences, is the use of that in asterisk compulsory as in 1) or optional as in 2)? It seems that the meaning of that in asterisk is implicit in the meaning of the second part of 2) and therefore its omission causes no concern for ambiguity. 1) We often interpret people’s nod as...

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