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I'm from Vietnam. I'm learning English. I need help on the sentence I got from Casino Royale film:
"With their prototype destroyed, the company would be near bankruptcy. Instead, somebody lost over $100 milion betting the wrong way".
Even I can understand this sentence, I don't know what the bold text "betting the wrong way" function as. Does it function as adjective modifying $100 milion ?

Thank you very much!

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

I need help on the sentence I got from Casino Royale film:
"With their prototype destroyed, the company would be near bankruptcy. Instead, somebody lost over $100 million betting the wrong way".
Even though I can understand this sentence, I don't know what the bold text "betting the wrong way" function as. Does it function as adjective modifying $100 milion ?

No, it's an adverbial phrase modifying the verb 'lost'. It tells us how somebody lost $100 million.

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

CliveHi,

I need help on the sentence I got from Casino Royale film:
"With their prototype destroyed, the company would be near bankruptcy. Instead, somebody lost over $100 million betting the wrong way".
Even though I can understand this sentence, I don't know what the bold text "betting the wrong way" function as. Does it function as adjective modifying $100 milion ?

No, it's an adverbial phrase modifying the verb 'lost'. It tells us how somebody lost $100 million.

Best wishes, Clive

Thank you for your reply!

I think "betting the wrong way" is gerund phrase. According to what I knew gerund phrase can not function as adverb. I'm not sure ..........

Anonymous · Answer

CliveHi,

I need help on the sentence I got from Casino Royale film:
"With their prototype destroyed, the company would be near bankruptcy. Instead, somebody lost over $100 million betting the wrong way".
Even though I can understand this sentence, I don't know what the bold text "betting the wrong way" function as. Does it function as adjective modifying $100 milion ?

No, it's an adverbial phrase modifying the verb 'lost'. It tells us how somebody lost $100 million.

Best wishes, Clive

Thank you for your reply!

I'm not sure but I think "betting the wrong way" is gerund phrase. According to what I knew gerund phrase can not function as adverb.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

With their prototype destroyed, the company would be near bankruptcy. Instead, somebody lost over $100 million betting the wrong way".

I'm not sure but I think "betting the wrong way" is gerund phrase. According to what I knew gerund phrase can not function as adverb.

No, a gerund is verb form that functions as a noun, eg Dancing keeps you fit, eg Betting $100 million is foolish.

If you want to argue that it's not adverbial, a better approach would be to suggest that it's an adjectival phrase describing 'somebody'. Afet all, you can reword the sentence as Betting the wrong way, somebody lost over $100 million.

However, the original sentence still seems to me to use the phrase in an adverbial kind of way. Consider 'He died smiling'. That seems to describe how he died.

Best wishes again, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

CliveHi,

With their prototype destroyed, the company would be near bankruptcy. Instead, somebody lost over $100 million betting the wrong way".

I'm not sure but I think "betting the wrong way" is gerund phrase. According to what I knew gerund phrase can not function as adverb.

No, a gerund is verb form that functions as a noun, eg Dancing keeps you fit, eg Betting $100 million is foolish.

If you want to argue that it's not adverbial, a better approach would be to suggest that it's an adjectival phrase describing 'somebody'. Afet all, you can reword the sentence as Betting the wrong way, somebody lost over $100 million.

However, the original sentence still seems to me to use the phrase in an adverbial kind of way. Consider 'He died smiling'. That seems to describe how he died.

Best wishes again, Clive

Thanks for your reply!

Then if the phrase is adverb it would be "by betting the wrong way", wouldn't it ?

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Yes, that sounds fine, but it also seems OK to omit the 'by'.

Clive

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