Cannot fail to

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We can not fail to be concerned about the prospect of Ukraine's possible admission to NATO, because this will undoubtedly be followed by the deployment there of military contingents, bases and weapons that threaten us.

Is admission Ukraine's?

Isn't admission NATO's to Ukraine?

Is undoubt same as undoubted? Or there is any difference?

cannot same as can not?

Is "military" modifying "bases" and "weapons"?

Lastly, I'm confused by "followed" and "following" all the time.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Silencio TarsierIs admission Ukraine's?Isn't admission NATO's to Ukraine?

It isn't quite like that, but I'm with you. I don't like it much, either. I want "the possible admission of Ukraine to NATO". But we all know what he means, and you do see it that way.

Silencio TarsierIs undoubt same as undoubted?

I don't know what you mean. "Undoubtedly" means "certainly", "surely". "Undoubt" is not a word in the OED, so you can't take "undoubtedly" or its sister "undoubted" literally.

Silencio Tarsiercannot same as can not?

No. The writer made a mistake. It's always "cannot". Well, almost always. It's one of the common spelling errors. You have to be inventive to come up with a context for "can not", and if I did so it would only confuse the issue for you.

Silencio TarsierIs "military" modifying "bases" and "weapons"?

Yes, and "contingents". That's lazy writing. What is a non-military weapon, a boomerang?

Silencio TarsierLastly, I'm confused by "followed" and "following" all the time.

The admission will be followed by deployment. That is the passive form of "Deployment will follow the admission."

Moonrise · Answer

Silencio Tarsier
We can not fail to be concerned about the prospect of Ukraine's possible admission to NATO, because this will undoubtedly be followed by the deployment there of military contingents, bases and weapons that threaten us.

Is admission Ukraine's?
Isn't admission NATO's to Ukraine?

Is undoubt same as undoubted? Or there is any difference?
cannot same as can not?
Is "military" modifying "bases" and "weapons"?

Lastly, I'm confused by "followed" and "following" all the time.

I'm not sure I can understand all your questions. I just can tell you my understanding of the text above.

"We can not fail to be concerned"= I understand it as we couldn't avoid being concerned. = We have to be concerned.

"about the prospect of Ukraine's possible admission to NATO"= I think it would mean in a case that Ukrain is being admitted to NATO. In other words, if NATO accepted Ukraine as a member of it. In other terms, if Ukrain did really join NATO.

Ukraine couldn't join NATO if NATO didn't accept/admit/approve Ukraine as a member of them.

undoubt : I don't think this word exists in English, by the way.

undoubted: This is an adjective, and it means certain.

undoubtedly: This is an adverb, and it means certainly.

can not = cannot (I think that's correct)

To me, military modifies "contingents" first. I think it modifies "bases and weapons" as well, but I'm not sure of my answer here.

There is no "following" word in the text there here's just " followed", and in that context, it's a passive voice.

CalifJim · Answer

Silencio TarsierWe can not fail to be concerned about the prospect of Ukraine's possible admission to NATO, because this will undoubtedly be followed by the deployment there of military contingents, bases and weapons that threaten us.
Is admission Ukraine's?

Yes. It's Ukraine's admission to NATO, which is NATO's admission of Ukraine to NATO. The second doesn't necessarily sound as good because it repeats "NATO".

When the noun is deverbal, the construction with an accompanying possessive can be ambiguous. The possessive can be the subject or the complement of the deverbal.

Thus, the king's murder can imply that someone killed the king or that the king killed someone else. Adding an of-phrase removes the ambiguity: the king's murder of his brother.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

Silencio TarsierIs undoubt same as undoubted?

No. There is no word "undoubt" in English.

Silencio Tarsiercannot same as can not?

No. It should be 'cannot' here.

Silencio TarsierIs "military" modifying "bases" and "weapons"?

I think most people would take it that way, yes.

Silencio Tarsier"followed" and "following"

X will be followed by Y: X will come first, then Y will come later.

X will occur at 3 pm, following Y: X will occur at 3 pm, but that will be after Y has already happened earlier.

The parade will be followed by patriotic speeches.
=
Following the parade, there will be patriotic speeches.

If you are following me, I am being followed by you.

CJ

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