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Noname 8048 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
object + subject + verb?
As titlw says I saw strange example using 'the while'.
'beseeching him, the while his hand she wrung'
It says " the while" has same meaning as 'during the time that'
Even though, 'Beseeching him, during the time that his hand she wrung'
looks so unfamiliar.
I think "during the time that his hand she wrung" can be treated as a phrase, and "his hand she wrung cannot be a seperate phrase since this part is modifying the time, requiring a clause.
So " his hand she wrung" looks somewhat wrong to me.
What is composition of "his hand", "she", and "wrung"? And is "his hand she wrung" a clause?
If they are Object, Subject, and Verb, how can they positioned like so? And what are this type of compositions called?
'beseeching him, the while his hand she wrung'
It says " the while" has same meaning as 'during the time that'
Even though, 'Beseeching him, during the time that his hand she wrung'
looks so unfamiliar.
I think "during the time that his hand she wrung" can be treated as a phrase, and "his hand she wrung cannot be a seperate phrase since this part is modifying the time, requiring a clause.
So " his hand she wrung" looks somewhat wrong to me.
What is composition of "his hand", "she", and "wrung"? And is "his hand she wrung" a clause?
If they are Object, Subject, and Verb, how can they positioned like so? And what are this type of compositions called?
Top answer
The line that you quote is poetic and has an old-fashioned feel. In ordinary modern English, one would say "while she wrung his hand". "his hand she wrung" is a poetic inversion of subject and object.
- The line that you quote is poetic and has an old-fashioned feel.
- In ordinary modern English, one would say "while she wrung his hand".
- "his hand she wrung" is a poetic inversion of subject and object.
- The use of "the while" rather than "while" is an old-fashioned or poetic phrasing.
- Although "during the time that" expresses the essential meaning, the literal substitution "during the time that his hand she wrung" feels awkward, probably partly because the inversion seems harder to parse due to the more prosaic nature of "during the time that", and partly because "during the time that" feels clunkier than "while" anyway.
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3 Answers
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The line that you quote is poetic and has an old-fashioned feel. In ordinary modern English, one would say "while she wrung his hand". "his hand she wrung" is a poetic inversion of subject and object. The use of "the while" rather than "while" is an old-fashioned or poetic phrasing.
Although "during the time that" expresses the essential meaning, the literal substitution "during the time
Although "during the time that" expresses the essential meaning, the literal substitution "during the time
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So it is like using thy instead of you ?
Which one could not say it is wrong?
Which one could not say it is wrong?
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Noname 8048So it is like using thy instead of you ?"thy" means "your", not "you". The line you quote is "like" this only inasmuch as it contains old-fashioned or poetic language.
Noname 8048Which one could not say it is wrong?It is not wrong in its context. If you said "... the while his hand she wrung ..." in everyday con
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