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Twilit02 Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
I failed to convince the judge to set me free." correct?
My dear and respected teachers,
1: "I failed to convince the judge to set me free." correct?
2: "I'll break your legs and then you'll be on crutches." correct?
3: "He even can't walk with OR by the support of crutches." correct?
1: "I failed to convince the judge to set me free." correct?
2: "I'll break your legs and then you'll be on crutches." correct?
3: "He even can't walk with OR by the support of crutches." correct?
Top answer
#1 and #2 are fine. #3 should be: "He can't walk even with the support of crutches". ".
- #1 and #2 are fine.
- #3 should be: "He can't walk even with the support of crutches".
- ".
- " is in my view the technically correct form for the meaning that you want.
- )
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3 Answers
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#1 and #2 are fine.
#3 should be: "He can't walk even with the support of crutches". In practice, native speakers might say "He can't even walk with...", or, less acceptably IMO, "He even can't walk with...". However, "He can't walk even with..." is in my view the technically correct form for the meaning that you want. ("Even" is similar to "only" in this respect: in inform
#3 should be: "He can't walk even with the support of crutches". In practice, native speakers might say "He can't even walk with...", or, less acceptably IMO, "He even can't walk with...". However, "He can't walk even with..." is in my view the technically correct form for the meaning that you want. ("Even" is similar to "only" in this respect: in inform
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Some more waffle, since my "for the meaning you want" was a bit of a fudge...
In fact, "He can't walk even with..." and "He can't even walk with..." have slightly different meanings. The first emphasises the fact that he can't walk -- he can't walk at all, not even with crutches. The second suggests that there are a range of things he can't do, and emphasises that one of these is to walk
In fact, "He can't walk even with..." and "He can't even walk with..." have slightly different meanings. The first emphasises the fact that he can't walk -- he can't walk at all, not even with crutches. The second suggests that there are a range of things he can't do, and emphasises that one of these is to walk
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Rather than trying to suggest two different meanings, I think it would be better to simply remember that the word "even" is used for emphasis in the sentence, and that the location of the word determines what is being emphasized. Saying "even with crutches" places the emphasis on the idea of "with crutches". Saying "can't even walk" puts the emphasis on the verb.
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