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Usenet Posted 23 years ago
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Inverted verbs

The following sentences use "inverted verbs".
1)According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSE their jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions.


why WERE followed by an infinitive TO LOSE are used?
2)Have I an associate who has extensive social web in this situation, I can just ask him to make request for me.


Is the above sentence semantically and grammatically correct?
  

Top answer

[nq:1]The following sentences use "inverted verbs". 1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSE their jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions. [/nq] It's a rearranged conditional statement: If a majority of telecommuters were to lose their jobs, they would look for other telecommuting positions.

— Usenet

  • [nq:1]The following sentences use "inverted verbs".
  • 1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSE their jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions.
  • [/nq] It's a rearranged conditional statement: If a majority of telecommuters were to lose their jobs, they would look for other telecommuting positions.
  • [nq:1]2) Have I an associate who has extensive social web in this situation, I can just ask him to make request for me.
  • [/nq] No.
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33 Answers
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[nq:1]The following sentences use "inverted verbs". 1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSE their jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions.

why WERE followed by an infinitive TO LOSE are used?[/nq]
It's a rearranged conditional statement:
If a majority of telecommuters were to lose their jobs, they would look for other telecommuting pos

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[nq:1]The following sentences use "inverted verbs". 1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSEtheir jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions. == why WERE followed by an infinitive TO LOSE are used?[/nq]
No verbs are inverted in Case 1.
In the subordinate clause, it is normal for English to use the formula:

1 = conditional subordinating
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[nq:1]The following sentences use "inverted verbs". 1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSE their jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions.

why WERE followed by an infinitive TO LOSE are used?[/nq]
The construction is "be to lose", as in "he is to lose his job", meaning "he will lose his job", with an inference that there is a schedule for

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[nq:1]No. First, only past tense forms were used in this construction, so the sentence should have started with 'Had', not ... houses with additions from various periods; and this surrounded by a multitude of new boroughs." Ludwig Wittgenstein, 'Philosophische Untersuchungen'[/nq]
You have zeroed in on the gist. Yet in TOEFL, we, the non-native speakers still need to answer the archaic questio
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...
} it's pompous and serves no purpose.

Oy!

R. J. Valentine
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[nq:2]1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of ... why WERE followed by an infinitive TO LOSE are used?[/nq]
[nq:1]It's a rearranged conditional statement: If a majority of telecommuters were to lose their jobs, they would look for other telecommuting positions.[/nq]
In particular, in conditionals that use the auxiliary verbs "were", "had", or "should", it's possible to express
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[nq:1]The following sentences use "inverted verbs". 1) According to a recent survey, WERE a majority of telecommuters TO LOSEtheir jobs, they WOULD look for other telecommuting positions.

why WERE followed by an infinitive TO LOSE are used?[/nq]
The word "would" is followed by an infinitive also, namely, "look," so the question should be "In the sentence in question, why is the infinitive

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[nq:1]... } it's pompous and serves no purpose. Oy![/nq]
I bet you were hoping that no one would see your "Oy!" I saw it right away, but let you stew for a while ...

Skitt (in Hayward, California)
www.geocities.com/opus731/
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...
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}>} it's pompous and serves no purpose. }>
}> Oy!
}
} I bet you were hoping that no one would see your "Oy!" I saw it right away, } but let you stew for a while ...
I just flag 'em as I spot 'em. If you want to discuss them, I'm willing; but I've got more pressing matters than stewing about whether anyone else catches them.
Could be he was just kidding ar
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[nq:1]... }>} it's pompous and serves no purpose. }> }> Oy! } } I bet you were hoping that no ... about whether anyone else catches them. Could be he was just kidding around, but I can't say I've noticed precedent.[/nq]
Kidding around about what? Exactly what were you Oying? You didn't quote the whole sentence, so it must not be the expressed thought. All the words are spelled correct
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