0
Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
grammar structure " did was"
"Jack Palance often distanced himself from mainstream Hollywood. He once said most of the stuff he did was garbage and that most of the directors he'd worked with were incompetent. "
i copy this it for BBC news, but i am wondering about "did was", please hlep me!
i copy this it for BBC news, but i am wondering about "did was", please hlep me!
Top answer
Most of the stuff he did - most of the roles he took, character he played, his acting in general was garbage - that "stuff" was not good. Don't parse as "did was" but as "his work" ... "was not good"
- Most of the stuff he did - most of the roles he took, character he played, his acting in general was garbage - that "stuff" was not good.
- Don't parse as "did was" but as "his work" ...
- "was not good"
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
10 Answers
0
Most of the stuff he did - most of the roles he took, character he played, his acting in general
was garbage - that "stuff" was not good.
Don't parse as "did was" but as "his work" ... "was not good"
was garbage - that "stuff" was not good.
Don't parse as "did was" but as "his work" ... "was not good"
00
Hi,
"Jack Palance often distanced himself from mainstream Hollywood. He once said most of the stuff he did was garbage and that most of the directors he'd worked with were incompetent. "
These two verbs are from two separate clauses.
One clause is '
"Jack Palance often distanced himself from mainstream Hollywood. He once said most of the stuff he did was garbage and that most of the directors he'd worked with were incompetent. "
These two verbs are from two separate clauses.
One clause is '
00
CliveHi,
"Jack Palance often distanced himself from mainstream Hollywood. He once said most of the stuff he did was garbage and that most of the directors he'd worked with were incompetent. "
These two verbs are from two separate clauses.
00
Hi Grammarian-bot
So, "did was" contruction can be used when each one belongs to a seperate (should be separate) clause.
So, "did was" contruction can be used when each one belongs to a seperate (should be separate) clause.
00
Hi Grammar-bot
You should not look at 'did was' as one unit. As has already been mentioned, did is part of one clause and was is part of a different clause. The two words are separate verbs that do separate things in the sentence.
You should not look at 'did was' as one unit. As has already been mentioned, did is part of one clause and was is part of a different clause. The two words are separate verbs that do separate things in the sentence.
00
YankeeHi Grammar-botNo No No... I didn't mean to say thay it's a single unit. I just wanted to a
You should not look at 'did was' as one unit. As has already been mentioned, did is part of one clause and was is part of a different clause. The two words are separate verbs that do separate things in the sentence.
00
0
CliveHi,Hi Clive
Yes, it's fine.
Clive
Is the same thing true of "Let's listen to what he has to say about it."
00
0
GB,
A parenthetical remark:
The misunderstanding is that you used the words "did was" construction.
The use of the word constructionmakes the reader believe that "did was" is a unit and is being thought of as a unit.
A parenthetical remark:
The misunderstanding is that you used the words "did was" construction.
The use of the word constructionmakes the reader believe that "did was" is a unit and is being thought of as a unit.
0
Related Questions