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Park sang joon Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The analyses of a text #2
This novel is set in a Chinese village before World War One.
The protagonist lives with his wife and father, his wife was a maid to so rich a family.
The time for his wife's first birth is drawing near, and she wants to dress herself and the baby in new clothes when a baby will be born.
..........................
"I suppose you will need some money," he said at last with apparent gruffness.
"If you will give me three silver pieces ..." she said fearfully. "It is a great deal, but I have counted carefully and I will waste no penny of it. I shall make the cloth dealer give me the last to the foot."
<The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck>
1. I'd like to know if the main clause of the "if" clause in blue is the underlined clause.
2. I'd like to know what "the last to the foot" means.
Thank you in advance for your help.
The protagonist lives with his wife and father, his wife was a maid to so rich a family.
The time for his wife's first birth is drawing near, and she wants to dress herself and the baby in new clothes when a baby will be born.
..........................
"I suppose you will need some money," he said at last with apparent gruffness.
"If you will give me three silver pieces ..." she said fearfully. "It is a great deal, but I have counted carefully and I will waste no penny of it. I shall make the cloth dealer give me the last to the foot."
<The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck>
1. I'd like to know if the main clause of the "if" clause in blue is the underlined clause.
2. I'd like to know what "the last to the foot" means.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Top answer
1. Probably not. " part that is only vaguely implied rather than clearly expressed.
- 1.
- Probably not.
- " part that is only vaguely implied rather than clearly expressed.
- 2.
- e.
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3 Answers
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1. Probably not. "If you will ..." here is a tentative way of asking for something, with a "then ..." part that is only vaguely implied rather than clearly expressed.
2. The version I found online has "I shall make the cloth dealer give me the last inch to the foot", i.e. she will make sure she gets the full measure of cloth that she has paid for.
2. The version I found online has "I shall make the cloth dealer give me the last inch to the foot", i.e. she will make sure she gets the full measure of cloth that she has paid for.
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Thank you, GPY, for your So Very kind answer. 
2. But I can't understand the structure of "the last inch to the foot" at al
2. But I can't understand the structure of "the last inch to the foot" at al
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You can think of "the last inch to the foot" as meaning "the final inch that makes up a foot (of cloth)". For example, if you pay for 5 ft of cloth and only receive 4 ft 11 in, then you are not getting "the last inch".
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