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Prussian Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Adjective before 'a'
Cheers folks,
I'd like to inquire about a thing i've come across in a few older english texts (~18/19th century): In some sentences there are some constructions like:
"...but so savage a stand did the Russians make..."
I liked the sound of constructions like this very much, but because I came across it rather rarely and only in 'sophisticated' texts, I dismissed at as being too exaggerated and archaic for the use in my own texts. However, yesterday I came across the construction once more, but this time it was used by Sean Bean , playing an uneducated commoner far from linguistic sophistication in the "Sharpe" series, which made me curios about it once more, but i could'nt find a thing about it on the internet, thus I am writing here now, hoping anyone can help me satisfy my curiosity:
Does this construction have a name?
Under which circumstances is/was it used?
Could I use it in my own texts? (Not in things like applications of course, but rather creative writing tasks in exams and the likes)
Any help is most appreciated and welcome.
Kind regards, Prussian
I'd like to inquire about a thing i've come across in a few older english texts (~18/19th century): In some sentences there are some constructions like:
"...but so savage a stand did the Russians make..."
I liked the sound of constructions like this very much, but because I came across it rather rarely and only in 'sophisticated' texts, I dismissed at as being too exaggerated and archaic for the use in my own texts. However, yesterday I came across the construction once more, but this time it was used by Sean Bean , playing an uneducated commoner far from linguistic sophistication in the "Sharpe" series, which made me curios about it once more, but i could'nt find a thing about it on the internet, thus I am writing here now, hoping anyone can help me satisfy my curiosity:
Does this construction have a name?
Under which circumstances is/was it used?
Could I use it in my own texts? (Not in things like applications of course, but rather creative writing tasks in exams and the likes)
Any help is most appreciated and welcome.
Kind regards, Prussian
Top answer
Welcome to EF, Prussian! Your structure has no special name but it is perfectly acceptable modern English. The position of the article is exceptional in your example because it is not before the adjective savage , where articles are usually placed.
- Welcome to EF, Prussian!
- Your structure has no special name but it is perfectly acceptable modern English.
- The position of the article is exceptional in your example because it is not before the adjective savage , where articles are usually placed.
- The reason for the exceptional position is so: It was so interesting a book that I read it in eight hours.
- = It was such an interesting book that I read it in eight hours.
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2 Answers
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Welcome to EF, Prussian! Your structure has no special name but it is perfectly acceptable modern English. The position of the article is exceptional in your example because it is not before the adjective savage, where articles are usually placed. The reason for the exceptional position is so:
It was so interesting a book that I read it in eight hours. =
It was so interesting a book that I read it in eight hours. =
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Thank you very much for your help, CB, your post answered all my questions.
Kind regards, Prussian
Kind regards, Prussian
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