In case they're not
"I might be wrong but Britain's institutions seem to be designed to be respected with no safeguards in case they're not."
(From The Guardian readers' forum.)
(i) Does "in case they're not" refer to the adjective (past participle?) "respected" in the sentence above?
(ii) What is the role of the PP "in case" in "in case they're not"?
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(i) In the context, I read the whole sentence as I might be wrong but Britain's institutions seem to be designed to be respected with no safeguards in case they're not ——, where —— means "respected".
(ii) I think that "in case" is a marker of subordination in that sentence together with the omitted "that" subordinator, i.e., in in case [that] they're are not "in case [that]" is a compound subordinator.
Top answer
I might be wrong but Britain's institutions seem to be designed to be respected with no safeguards in case they're not. ) "respected" in the sentence above? e.
- I might be wrong but Britain's institutions seem to be designed to be respected with no safeguards in case they're not.
- ) "respected" in the sentence above?
- e.
- "in case Britain's institutions are not respected").
- I take "respected" as a past participle in a passive clause.
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I might be wrong but Britain's institutions seem to be designed to be respected with no safeguards in case they're not.
tkacka15(i) Does "in case they're not" refer to the adjective (past participle?) "respected" in the sentence above?
Yes: "in case they're not" is an adjunct (probably 'purpose'), with "they" referring to "Britain's institution
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