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Debpriya De Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Difference between pseudo cleft and free relative
What is the difference between the pseudo-cleft and fused (or free) relative constructions as in :
1. 3 o' clock is when he left his house. (free relative)
2. At 3 o'clock is when he left his house. (pseudo-cleft)
3. Where I found the book was in the kitchen.(pseudo-cleft)
4. Where I found the key was the kitchen.(free relative)
1. 3 o' clock is when he left his house. (free relative)
2. At 3 o'clock is when he left his house. (pseudo-cleft)
3. Where I found the book was in the kitchen.(pseudo-cleft)
4. Where I found the key was the kitchen.(free relative)
Top answer
I'm not familiar with these technical linguistic terms, but the obvious difference is the use of a preposition in the pseudo-cleft examples, 3 o' clock versus at 3 o' clock, and the kitchen versus in the kitchen - and yet, with the preposition added, the meaning stays the same; this is unusual grammatically. What is also unusual about the pseudo-cleft examples is that, with the preposition added to the noun, you then have a prepositional phrase which functions as a noun, which is unusual grammatically - you don't typically think of a prepositional phrases substituting for nouns.
- I'm not familiar with these technical linguistic terms, but the obvious difference is the use of a preposition in the pseudo-cleft examples, 3 o' clock versus at 3 o' clock, and the kitchen versus in the kitchen - and yet, with the preposition added, the meaning stays the same; this is unusual grammatically.
- What is also unusual about the pseudo-cleft examples is that, with the preposition added to the noun, you then have a prepositional phrase which functions as a noun, which is unusual grammatically - you don't typically think of a prepositional phrases substituting for nouns.
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1 Answers
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I'm not familiar with these technical linguistic terms, but the obvious difference is the use of a preposition in the pseudo-cleft examples, 3 o' clock versus at 3 o' clock, and the kitchen versus in the kitchen - and yet, with the preposition added, the meaning stays the same; this is unusual grammatically.
What is also unusual about the pseudo-cleft examples is that, with the prepositio
What is also unusual about the pseudo-cleft examples is that, with the prepositio
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