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Cho7712 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
do
Reading an article, I got confused with this sentence.
e.g. Sue will go read the book, but Alex already did.
What operation is called for to explain the appearance of 'did'?
I personally think ellipsis is not the case because the sentence below is not possible .
i.e. ~~,but Alex already did go read the book.
If this 'did' is understood in the hope of emphasizing the act expressed by the main verb, it still seems to be problematic in the way used as an auxiliary verb in the original sentence. That because ,I think, the emphatic 'do' just can't be used as an auxiliary verb in any way.
Then the remaining alternative possible is the pro-form, I assume. But still, the problem breaks out with the pro-form.
i.e. ~~, but Alex already went read the book.
It is strictly banned from occuring that the verb is inflectioned as the type of subject in the serial verb construction.
Is something missing in my guessing or what other rules can be employed?
e.g. Sue will go read the book, but Alex already did.
What operation is called for to explain the appearance of 'did'?
I personally think ellipsis is not the case because the sentence below is not possible .
i.e. ~~,but Alex already did go read the book.
If this 'did' is understood in the hope of emphasizing the act expressed by the main verb, it still seems to be problematic in the way used as an auxiliary verb in the original sentence. That because ,I think, the emphatic 'do' just can't be used as an auxiliary verb in any way.
Then the remaining alternative possible is the pro-form, I assume. But still, the problem breaks out with the pro-form.
i.e. ~~, but Alex already went read the book.
It is strictly banned from occuring that the verb is inflectioned as the type of subject in the serial verb construction.
Is something missing in my guessing or what other rules can be employed?
Top answer
cho7712 Sue will go read the book, but Alex already did. Sue will go (and) read the book, but Alex already [ did (go (and) read the book) / went (and) read the book ]. did is a pro-form, in spite of the difficulties in rationalizing "went read".
- cho7712 Sue will go read the book, but Alex already did.
- Sue will go (and) read the book, but Alex already [ did (go (and) read the book) / went (and) read the book ].
- did is a pro-form, in spite of the difficulties in rationalizing "went read".
- e.
- ~~,but Alex already did go read the book.
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2 Answers
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cho7712Sue will go read the book, but Alex already did.Sue will go (and) read the book, but Alex already [ did (go (and) read the book) / went (and) read the book ].
did is a pro-form, in spite of the difficulties in rationalizing "went read".
cho7712I personally think ellipsis is not the case because the sentence belo
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Thank you for the answer.
CalifJimOn the contrary, it's possible.I don't see any contradiction between an explanation with the concept of 'pro-form' and an explanation with the concept of 'ellipsis'.This comment is quite illuminating. I too narrowed the possiblities down only to the surface structure; the 'did' part being rigidly identical to its antecedent ele
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