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Johnson13 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
it cannot quite be trusted
A sentence: To those warnings the reader is referred for practical purposes, and the present article can be devoted to a confession of faith in case as an enduring fact, a miscellaneous collection of quotations showing that it cannot quite be trusted to take care of itself, and a glance at the conditions that make mistakes most likely.
To me, this sentence is obscure.
1. What does IT refer to? A miscellaneous collection or the present article?
2. Does AN ENDURING FACT refer to that collection?
3.What's the meaning of a confession of faith? This phrase can be found in Oxford, but I just can't figure out why it's put here.
4.TAKE CARE OF means to care for or to be responsible for, but this sense is out of place here. What does it mean here?
5. For 'a glance...', with which part of the whole sentence is it parallel? This part is a noun phrase only (judging by THAT...), but what is the thing that introduces the phrase A GLANCE...?
To me, this sentence is obscure.
1. What does IT refer to? A miscellaneous collection or the present article?
2. Does AN ENDURING FACT refer to that collection?
3.What's the meaning of a confession of faith? This phrase can be found in Oxford, but I just can't figure out why it's put here.
4.TAKE CARE OF means to care for or to be responsible for, but this sense is out of place here. What does it mean here?
5. For 'a glance...', with which part of the whole sentence is it parallel? This part is a noun phrase only (judging by THAT...), but what is the thing that introduces the phrase A GLANCE...?
Top answer
Woof. This is a bear of a sentence, because it's about the grammatical case, which is an extremely uncommon use of the word, so it doesn't parse easily. It doesn't help that it's written in hundred-year-old English.
- Woof.
- This is a bear of a sentence, because it's about the grammatical case, which is an extremely uncommon use of the word, so it doesn't parse easily.
- It doesn't help that it's written in hundred-year-old English.
- (To those warnings) (the reader is referred) (for practical purposes), and (the present article) (can be devoted) to [ (a confession of faith) in (case) (as an enduring fact), a (miscellaneous collection) of (quotations showing) that (it cannot quite be trusted) to (take care of itself), and a (glance) at (the conditions) that (make mistakes most likely)].
- You needn't pay attention to the above - it's how I split up the sentence for myself in order to better answer your questions.
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2 Answers
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Woof. This is a bear of a sentence, because it's about the grammatical case, which is an extremely uncommon use of the word, so it doesn't parse easily. It doesn't help that it's written in hundred-year-old English.
(To those warnings) (the reader is referred) (for practical purposes), and (the present article) (can be devoted) to [ (a confession of faith) in (case) (as an enduring fact
(To those warnings) (the reader is referred) (for practical purposes), and (the present article) (can be devoted) to [ (a confession of faith) in (case) (as an enduring fact
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CSnyder"It" refers to case, i.e. grammatical case, which the author believes cannot be trusted to take care of itself (whatever that means).I think that Fowler is suggesting that we have to think carefully about case - the right case does not appear of its own accord.
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