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Park sang joon Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The analyses of a sentence
Peggotty is the only maid of the protagonist's house.
THE FIRST OBJECTS THAT ASSUME A DISTINCT PRESENCE before me, as I look far back into the blank of my infancy, are my mother with her pretty hair and youthful shape, and Peggotty, with no shape at all, and eyes so dark that they seemed to darken their whole neighbourhood in her face, and cheeks and arms so hard and red that I wondered the birds didn't peck her in preference to apples.
I believe I can remember these two at a little distance apart, dwarfed to my sight by stooping down or kneeling on the floor, and I going unsteadily from the one to the other.
[David Copperfield by Charles Dickens]
I'd like to know if "a little distance" modifies "apart" and the object of "at" is "apart."
And I'd like to know why "am" is omitted before "going."
Thank you in advance for your help.
THE FIRST OBJECTS THAT ASSUME A DISTINCT PRESENCE before me, as I look far back into the blank of my infancy, are my mother with her pretty hair and youthful shape, and Peggotty, with no shape at all, and eyes so dark that they seemed to darken their whole neighbourhood in her face, and cheeks and arms so hard and red that I wondered the birds didn't peck her in preference to apples.
I believe I can remember these two at a little distance apart, dwarfed to my sight by stooping down or kneeling on the floor, and I going unsteadily from the one to the other.
[David Copperfield by Charles Dickens]
I'd like to know if "a little distance" modifies "apart" and the object of "at" is "apart."
And I'd like to know why "am" is omitted before "going."
Thank you in advance for your help.
Top answer
" "apart" cannot be the object of "at". The only explanation I can see at the moment is that "apart" modifies "a little distance", and "a little distance (apart)" is the object of "at". However, it may be that the word "at" is grammatically spurious, and it should simply say "I can remember these two a little distance apart".
- " "apart" cannot be the object of "at".
- The only explanation I can see at the moment is that "apart" modifies "a little distance", and "a little distance (apart)" is the object of "at".
- However, it may be that the word "at" is grammatically spurious, and it should simply say "I can remember these two a little distance apart".
- " "I can remember ...
- " is essentially the same pattern as, say, "I can remember him laughing", which hopefully will look familiar.
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3 Answers
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park sang joonI'd like to know if "a little distance" modifies "apart" and the object of "at" is "apart.""apart" cannot be the object of "at". The only explanation I can see at the moment is that "apart" modifies "a little distance", and "a little distance (apart)" is the object of "at". However, it may be that the word "at" is grammatically spurious, and it
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Thank you, GPY, for yet another very helpful answer from you. 
"I can remember ... I going unsteadily ..." is essent
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park sang joonThen, I'd like to know if "I can remember his laughing" is more idiomatic rather than "I can remember him laughing.""I can remember his laughing" is formally correct but may sound pedantic in everyday use. "I can remember him laughing" would be the norm in everyday English.
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