How's should I call this sentence structure?
Hi everyone, I am Jeffery Ng from HK, I am reading a book and trying to improve my vocab and understanding in English, I am facing a problem while reading some article-style sentence:-
The sentence is : The ability to motivate people is not, in itself, difficult
I think the sentence meaning is same as "The ability to motivate people is not difficult in itself" or "The ability to motivate people in itself is not difficult", but why the writer put "in itself" in the middle?
Thank you for reading and answering : )
Top answer
The given sentence is written like that to emphasize phrasing, if the sentence were spoken. " The two examples you gave are also correct, but the position of "in itself" in them does not lend itself to emphasizing "in itself" as dramatically as in the given sentence.
- The given sentence is written like that to emphasize phrasing, if the sentence were spoken.
- " The two examples you gave are also correct, but the position of "in itself" in them does not lend itself to emphasizing "in itself" as dramatically as in the given sentence.
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The given sentence is written like that to emphasize phrasing, if the sentence were spoken. Setting "in itself" off like that, with commas, indicates that the speaker would hesitate at both of the commas, thereby emphasizing the phrase "in itself."
The two examples you gave are also correct, but the position of "in itself" in them does not lend itself to emphasizing "in itself" as
0jeffery216How'sWhat should I call this sentence structure?
Just a note to let you know that your question should read as shown above.
CJ
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