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Ant_222 Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
«to was»?
Good day/night to all!
«I had seen the car for the first time with the westering sun shining fully on the flawed windscreen, and I had seen it the second time in the shadows of LeBay's garage. Now I was seeing it under these high-set fluorescent tubes. Three different kinds of light, and all it added up to was an optical illusion.»
Shouldn't the ending have been: «...and all it added up to _be_ [or «to produce», but not «to was»] an optical illusion.»?
I just don't get the structure of the original phrase.
«I had seen the car for the first time with the westering sun shining fully on the flawed windscreen, and I had seen it the second time in the shadows of LeBay's garage. Now I was seeing it under these high-set fluorescent tubes. Three different kinds of light, and all it added up to was an optical illusion.»
Shouldn't the ending have been: «...and all it added up to _be_ [or «to produce», but not «to was»] an optical illusion.»?
I just don't get the structure of the original phrase.
Top answer
Nope. It added up to an optical illusion = the only thing it added up to was an optical illusion = all it added up to was an optical illusion .
- Nope.
- It added up to an optical illusion = the only thing it added up to was an optical illusion = all it added up to was an optical illusion .
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3 Answers
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Nope. It added up to an optical illusion = the only thing it added up to was an optical illusion = all it added up to was an optical illusion.
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No, this isn't an infinitive.
This is how you need to splice that part:
/all it added up to / was an optical illusion
It's the phrasal verb:
to add up to something
which I think you know:
-----------
add up to sth
to become a particular amount
The various building programmes add up to several
This is how you need to splice that part:
/all it added up to / was an optical illusion
It's the phrasal verb:
to add up to something
which I think you know:
-----------
add up to sth
to become a particular amount
The various building programmes add up to several
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