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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
It is a truth universally acknowledged -passive?
0 Hi there! 02 br
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00 I've got a question concerning Jane Austen famous opening sentence of Pride & Prejudice: 02 br
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01 i 00 "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possesion of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" 02 i 02 br
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00 Is the first part of this sentence a genuine passive construction or rather something else, like e.g. a past participle shortening a relative clause? Is it possible to interpret it either way? 02 br
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00 Help would be great! 0-
02 br
00 I've got a question concerning Jane Austen famous opening sentence of Pride & Prejudice: 02 br
02 br
01 i 00 "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possesion of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" 02 i 02 br
02 br
00 Is the first part of this sentence a genuine passive construction or rather something else, like e.g. a past participle shortening a relative clause? Is it possible to interpret it either way? 02 br
02 br
00 Help would be great! 0-
Top answer
0 You can consider it as: 02 br 00 'It is a truth [that is] universally acknowledged' or 'it is a universally acknowledged truth'. I'm not sure what I would call the construction itself other than one involving a ellipsis (omission of something). 0-
- 0 You can consider it as: 02 br 00 'It is a truth [that is] universally acknowledged' or 'it is a universally acknowledged truth'.
- I'm not sure what I would call the construction itself other than one involving a ellipsis (omission of something).
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3 Answers
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0 You can consider it as: 02 br
00 'It is a truth [that is] universally acknowledged' or 'it is a universally acknowledged truth'. I'm not sure what I would call the construction itself other than one involving a ellipsis (omission of something). 0-
00 'It is a truth [that is] universally acknowledged' or 'it is a universally acknowledged truth'. I'm not sure what I would call the construction itself other than one involving a ellipsis (omission of something). 0-
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1 i 00 "It is a truth ( 01 sup 00 universally acknowledged,) 02 sup 00 that a single man in possesion of a good fortune must be in want of a wife" 02 br
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00 The pink part is a past participle phrase modifying "it's a truth". It's considered a passsive construction. 02 br
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00 Consider this: Aspirin, clinically 01 sup 00
02 br
00 The pink part is a past participle phrase modifying "it's a truth". It's considered a passsive construction. 02 br
02 br
00 Consider this: Aspirin, clinically 01 sup 00
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00 If, to be genuine, the passive construction must be a main clause as in 01 i 00 The man was bitten by the dog 02 i 00 , then no, there is
01 cite 10 Anonymous 12 cite 10 a genuine passive construction 12 blockquote10 Your question elicits another. What is a genuine passive construction? 02 br
00 If, to be genuine, the passive construction must be a main clause as in 01 i 00 The man was bitten by the dog 02 i 00 , then no, there is
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