Bees are emblematic of...
"Bees are emblematic of how the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change cannot wait."
(The Guardian.)
Is how the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change cannot wait an indirect question (a clause category) and a complement (a function) in the PP?
Can it be interpreted like this:
Bees are emblematic [representative] of the answer to the question how cannot the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change wait??
Top answer
'" The subordinate interrogative interpretation is dependent on "how" being an interrogative word, in which case that might be a possible interpretation on the understanding that it deals with the question of why the fight cannot wait. The sentence is somewhat infelicitous, though, and its interrogative meaning is open to question. For example, some would say that "how" is an informal subordinator/relative word here, so the meaning is Bees are emblematic of the fact that the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change cannot wait.
- '" The subordinate interrogative interpretation is dependent on "how" being an interrogative word, in which case that might be a possible interpretation on the understanding that it deals with the question of why the fight cannot wait.
- The sentence is somewhat infelicitous, though, and its interrogative meaning is open to question.
- For example, some would say that "how" is an informal subordinator/relative word here, so the meaning is Bees are emblematic of the fact that the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change cannot wait.
- But the problem with that analysis is that it means the clause is a 'fused' relative one, and that is not normally possible with "how".
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
Bees are emblematic [representative] of the answer to the question 'How can the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change not wait?'"
The subordinate interrogative interpretation is dependent on "how" being an interrogative word, in which case that might be a possible interpretation on the understanding that it deals with the question of why the fight cannot wait.
T
0tkacka15Is how the fight to save our planet and stop runaway climate change cannot wait an indirect question (a clause category) and a complement (a function) in the PP?
Personally I don't see the "how" part as an indirect question. I don't know what the corresponding direct question could be. To me, the sentence means "emblematic of the fact that / the ext
0
Related Questions