0
Gpanda Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
How to understand "had ... done" in this sentence?
I'm not a native English speaker, I'm reading a novel, "Sense and Sensibility", to improve my English. I need some help on understanding the grammar structure of a sentence, for I cannot figure it out based on my knowledge.
"
so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach with their brother.
"
one structure I can imagine is like this:
{would have [quitted ...] [had not (... induced ...) and (... determined ...)]},
however, if so, then I cannot understand the "had ... done ..." structure, I think it should be "had ... do...", because it is not like "had my money stolen" or "had my furniture repaired", here "the entreaty of her eldest girl" is the subject of "induce", "her own tender love ..." is the subject of "determine"
Could anyone enlighten me please? Thanks in advance.
"
so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach with their brother.
"
one structure I can imagine is like this:
{would have [quitted ...] [had not (... induced ...) and (... determined ...)]},
however, if so, then I cannot understand the "had ... done ..." structure, I think it should be "had ... do...", because it is not like "had my money stolen" or "had my furniture repaired", here "the entreaty of her eldest girl" is the subject of "induce", "her own tender love ..." is the subject of "determine"
Could anyone enlighten me please? Thanks in advance.
Top answer
Diagramming sentences is not my strength, but let me try to help in my own way. so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach with their brother. Try a paraphrase: (1) She despised her daughter-in-law so much that when her daughter-in-law arrived, she was ready to leave the house (2) except that her eldest girl persuaded her to consider how rude that would be, [OR: if her eldest girl had not persuaded her to consider how rude that would be (3) then her love for her children convinced her to stay and thus, for their sake, avoid a quarrel with her son.
- Diagramming sentences is not my strength, but let me try to help in my own way.
- so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach with their brother.
- Try a paraphrase: (1) She despised her daughter-in-law so much that when her daughter-in-law arrived, she was ready to leave the house (2) except that her eldest girl persuaded her to consider how rude that would be, [OR: if her eldest girl had not persuaded her to consider how rude that would be (3) then her love for her children convinced her to stay and thus, for their sake, avoid a quarrel with her son.
- Does that help any?
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
Diagramming sentences is not my strength, but let me try to help in my own way.
so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined
so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined
00
It really helps, Doctor D! Thank you very much!
Now I know my parsing of the sentence was totally wrong and it is actually an inverted form of "Third conditional" pattern of Conditional mood, without conjunction "if" .
So here "C would have done D, had not A done B“ is actually "if A had no
Now I know my parsing of the sentence was totally wrong and it is actually an inverted form of "Third conditional" pattern of Conditional mood, without conjunction "if" .
So here "C would have done D, had not A done B“ is actually "if A had no
00
0
Yes, your re-arrangement works well. To complete it, you would just add on something like "because she disliked her daughter-in-law."
00
gpandahad nothad not the entreaty induced her to reflect ~ if the entreaty had not induced her to reflect
if ... had [past participle] = had ... [past participle]
If you had been here, you would have seen the eclipse. = Had you been here, you would have seen the eclipse.
CJ
00
"...so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach with their brother.
00
tkacka15Is "had not" implied in the clause and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay,...?Yes. Everything in the rest of the sentence after 'had not' is within the scope of the 'had not'.
She would have ...
{IF
.... hadn't induced ...
AND
(IF) [... hadn't determined her ... [to stay ... and
00
CalifJimYes. Everything in the rest of the sentence after 'had not' is within the scope of the 'had not'.Thank you for the reply.
00
Doctor DTo complete it, you would just add on something like "because she disliked her daughter-in-law."You are right, many thanks again!
If the entreaty of her eldest girl had not induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going and if her own tender love for all her three children had not determined her afterwards
00
Related Questions