0
Moon7296 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

structure

There are always white spaces ready to be filled and golden nuggets of opportunities lying on the ground waiting for someone to pick them up. Sometimes it means looking beyond your own desk, outside your building, across the street, or around the corner. But the nuggets are there for the taking by anyone willing to gather them up.

Q) I'm not sure the structure of the underlined part.
What does "for the taking" part mean.

Q2) Can I omit "for the taking," and say like #2?

2. But the nuggets are there for the taking by anyone willing to gather them up.
  

Top answer

1. com/definition/english/for-the-taking ). However, I would say "there for the taking for anyone willing to gather them up".

— GPY

  • 1.
  • com/definition/english/for-the-taking ).
  • However, I would say "there for the taking for anyone willing to gather them up".
  • 2.
  • I think you may have mistyped something in your question.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

5 Answers
0
1. "for the taking" is a set expression meaning "ready or available for someone to take advantage of" (http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/for-the-taking). However, I would say "there for the taking for anyone willing to gather them up".

2. I think you m
0
0
The theme in this passage is that there are golden opportunities everyday. Thus, the phrase "for the taking" (readily available) is used to emphasize the ready availability of opportunities. If "for the taking" is omitted, the sentence is grammatical, but then you lose the emphasis the writer is trying to convey, and the passage loses all of its punch. It essentially cannot be omitted.
0
0
Anonymous If "for the taking" is omitted, the sentence is grammatical,
If "for the taking" is omitted then the result is "But the nuggets are there by anyone willing to gather them up", which does not make sense.
0
0
GPY I think you may have mistyped something in your question. If you omit "for the taking" from the original sentence then the result makes no sense.
The original passage is as follows: Over time, I have become increasingly aware that the world is divided into people who wait for others to give them permission to do the things they want to do and people who gr
0
0
moon7296Does "by" make the sentence sound off?
To me, just slightly (seems like a slight mix-up between the set expression "for the taking" and the ordinary use of the verb "take"). However, opinions may vary.
0

Related Questions