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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Subject of a sentence
Hello,
In the book "Parrot and Olivier in America", I came across the following text:
John Larrit did not seem to understand the word. "Not the road," he said. "Not the sea." And I thought, He could be fifty, and I understood he told the truth and would have wept except I had no right.
Context: The narrator is Oivier here. John Larrit told him the sad story of his life. He has travelled many roads and seas and now he longs for his own home, he doesn't want to travel any more. I want to make sure if I understand the last sentence correctly: I am not sure who is the object in the sentence "would have wept". Who would have wept? The narrator named Olivier, or John Larrit??
Thanks for your help.
In the book "Parrot and Olivier in America", I came across the following text:
John Larrit did not seem to understand the word. "Not the road," he said. "Not the sea." And I thought, He could be fifty, and I understood he told the truth and would have wept except I had no right.
Context: The narrator is Oivier here. John Larrit told him the sad story of his life. He has travelled many roads and seas and now he longs for his own home, he doesn't want to travel any more. I want to make sure if I understand the last sentence correctly: I am not sure who is the object in the sentence "would have wept". Who would have wept? The narrator named Olivier, or John Larrit??
Thanks for your help.
Top answer
Hi, Seems to me to be 'Olivier', although it's a bit ambiguous. Clive
- Hi, Seems to me to be 'Olivier', although it's a bit ambiguous.
- Clive
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2 Answers
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Anonymous I understood he told the truth and would have wept except I had no right.The narrator is the subject/actor. I did two things:
1. I understood X.
2. I would have wept, (but X). "I had no right (to weep)." "I" is the speaker (Oliver).
If you leave out the except, it could go the other way -
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