How does this sentence make grammatical sense? Boiled down to?
I have encountered this sentence in the novel the Shining:
The celebrated Jack Torrance brain. Aren't you the fellow who once was going to live by his wits? Jack Torrance, best-selling author. Jack Torrance, acclaimed playwright and winner of the New York Critics Circle Award. John Torrance, man of letters, esteemed thinker, winner of the Pulitzer Prize at seventy for his trenchant book of memoirs, My Life in the Twentieth Century. All any of that s**t boiled down to was living by your wits.
I'm interested in the last sentence. I was expecting "All any of that s**t boiled down to living by your wits". But why did Mr. King put "was" in there, which makes this sentence suffer from two predicates? Could you explain this sentence in terms of grammar? Thank you.
Top answer
The sentence is fine. " When you "boil something down," all the water evaporates and what's left is the solid essence.
- The sentence is fine.
- " When you "boil something down," all the water evaporates and what's left is the solid essence.
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The sentence is fine.
The subject is "All any of that *** boiled down to"
The predicate is "was living by your wits."
When you "boil something down," all the water evaporates and what's left is the solid essence.
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