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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Analyzing grammer
I am trying to analyze the grammatical structure of a sentence from Katherine Patterson's LYDDIE. The sentence is from the beginning of the first chapter page 1. Patterson's sentence reads: "The bear had been their undoing, though at the time they had all laughed." How is "had been their undoing used in this sentence?
Top answer
It is the predicate of the main clause.
- It is the predicate of the main clause.
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9 Answers
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predicate of the main clause..? so what is it? i dun quite get it...^^"
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mm..ok..but mm.....undoing is a verb?
the bear had been their undoing, ... <--is it equal to the bear bad been undoing? and what does "their" refer to?
hope is not a silly question= ="" i do really want to know the structure of every sentence.
the bear had been their undoing, ... <--is it equal to the bear bad been undoing? and what does "their" refer to?
hope is not a silly question= ="" i do really want to know the structure of every sentence.
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Not a silly question, but judging from your responses, I think this may be above your current level of language learning.
'Undoing' is a verb form acting as a noun-- see 'gerund' in your grammar book or in on-line grammars.
'Their' is a plural pronoun, so it cannot refer to 'bear', which is singular.
See those terms, and also 'predicate' in your grammar book as well.
'Undoing' is a verb form acting as a noun-- see 'gerund' in your grammar book or in on-line grammars.
'Their' is a plural pronoun, so it cannot refer to 'bear', which is singular.
See those terms, and also 'predicate' in your grammar book as well.
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so if undoing is a gerund, then "had been their undoing" had been (verb) their undoing, is there missing a main verb?
yea i know their won't be refer to the bear, that's why i wonder what "their" refers to.
yea i know their won't be refer to the bear, that's why i wonder what "their" refers to.
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No, the finite verb there is 'be'.
My wedding was my undoiing.
My wedding will be my undoing.
My weddings have always been my undoing.
My wedding was my undoiing.
My wedding will be my undoing.
My weddings have always been my undoing.
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The bear was his undoing.
The bear = subject
was = linking verb
his undoing = subjective complement
Undoing = noun (ruin/ fall)
The bear = subject
was = linking verb
his undoing = subjective complement
Undoing = noun (ruin/ fall)
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oh....this is reasonable to me...
probably see "their" in between, and get confused...
I will always be with this forum ^^
probably see "their" in between, and get confused...
I will always be with this forum ^^
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