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ESLBeginner Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Little did he know
Hello, would you please explain the grammar? I vaguely know that 'little did he know' means 'he had no idea', but I have no idea of the grammar:
"Later that afternoon, Harold's watch stopped working while he was waiting for the bus. Harold reset his watch to a time given by a bystander. Little did he know, that this simple, seemingly innocuous act, would result in his imminent death."
Thanks.
"Later that afternoon, Harold's watch stopped working while he was waiting for the bus. Harold reset his watch to a time given by a bystander. Little did he know, that this simple, seemingly innocuous act, would result in his imminent death."
Thanks.
Top answer
What do you want to know about the grammar? To break the phrase doen into parts of speach/tense etc seems to be more complicated than you ever need unless you are studying to teach English.
- What do you want to know about the grammar?
- To break the phrase doen into parts of speach/tense etc seems to be more complicated than you ever need unless you are studying to teach English.
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8 Answers
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What do you want to know about the grammar? To break the phrase doen into parts of speach/tense etc seems to be more complicated than you ever need unless you are studying to teach English.
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Dave PhillipsWhat do you want to know about the grammar? To break the phrase doen into parts of speach/tense etc seems to be more complicated than you ever need unless you are studying to teach English.It could even be considered a "fixed phrase".
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The phrase 'little did I/you/he/she/we/they know (that) is a very commonly used phrase.
The grammar of the phrase:
There is inversion of the subject and verb since the phrase begins with the word 'little'.
Inversion is commonly used when a sentence begins with negative or restrictive adverb
The grammar of the phrase:
There is inversion of the subject and verb since the phrase begins with the word 'little'.
Inversion is commonly used when a sentence begins with negative or restrictive adverb
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Dave, that's a very defeatist answer! Why discourage someone from learning?
Anyway, it's a turn of phrase - an idiom, I suppose - in which the normal syntax of English is inverted. It's characteristic of story-telling, and usually indicates that there is going to be some consequence for an actor - something is 'lying in wait', so to speak - so ESLbeginner's example is perfect.
Wh
Anyway, it's a turn of phrase - an idiom, I suppose - in which the normal syntax of English is inverted. It's characteristic of story-telling, and usually indicates that there is going to be some consequence for an actor - something is 'lying in wait', so to speak - so ESLbeginner's example is perfect.
Wh
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AnonymousDave, that's a very defeatist answer! Why discourage someone from learning?It wasn't meant to stop somebody from learning, as it wouldn't anyway! It was meant to not throw lots of information at somebody who then was discouraged from then asking in the future. Questions aren't always phrased to suit the needs of the poster, so a clarification
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I will take CAE soon and the more examples the better! Thanks Dave! Angelica
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