Some Things Are Better "Left Unwritten"

Question

"But she is a Sword King. I promise you won't find a better sword instructor. I've never beaten her even once, except in bed."

Some things are better left unwritten, stupid dad!

Although seeing the meaning of the sentence, I have no idea what I should call it "left unwritten" grammatically. A participial construction? An absolute construction? An adverbial? A conditional sentence (if they are left unwritten)?

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

anonymousSome things are better left unwritten

anonymousA participial construction?

Yes.

anonymousAn absolute construction?

Impossible. It doesn't have its own explicit subject.

anonymousAn adverbial?

Possibly.

anonymousA conditional sentence (if they are left unwritten)?

An implicit conditional perhaps, but 'when' works just as well as 'if' there.

anonymousno idea what I should call it "left unwritten" grammatically.

There are bound to be different interpretations of it. 'left' is definitely a past participle. 'written' is, too, but with the prefix 'un' it becomes an adjective. (You can't argue that 'unwrite' is a verb and say, "I have unwritten this email".)

I lean toward the implicit conditional interpretation. You can say that the elision of 'if they are' is involved.

CJ

Some Things Are Better "Left Unwritten"

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