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Park sang joon Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

The omitted verb 'be'

I have recently read "A Piece of My Mind", and in the book, a story says about a married couple who agrees to donate their brain-dead son's organs and therefore, receives so many letters of encouragement... ,
and in the story, the husband says "All this for a decision that seemed so obvious we've forgotten which of us suggested it."

The word 'was' is omitted after "All this" and I'd like to know why this is possible.
I asked this question on another forum, I ask for your understanding about this, and got an answer that it is because the sentence is used for exclamation.
But I don't know why this kind of long sentence can play the role of exclamation.

Thank you in advance for your help.
  

Top answer

Once again you are claiming that something has been omitted. 'Was' was never there, psj.

— Fivejedjon

  • Once again you are claiming that something has been omitted.
  • 'Was' was never there, psj.
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25 Answers
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Once again you are claiming that something has been omitted. 'Was' was never there, psj.
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Thank you, fivejedjon, for your answer.
I don't know why English allows so many kinds of clauses or phrases to do without a verb.

Once again you are claiming that something has been omitted. 'Was' was never there, psj.
I'd like to know whether my example is a long simple nominal phrase.
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park sang joonI'd like to know whether my example is a long simple nominal phrase.
"All this for a decision that seemed so obvious we've forgotten which of us suggested it." A group of words with that many dependent clauses cannot possibly be a simple ph
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park sang joonAll this for a decision that seemed so obvious we've forgotten which of us suggested it.
Either "All this was for ..." or better, "All this was done for ..." or even "They did all this for ...".
park sang joonI'd like to know why this is possible.
People tend to abbreviate things at times. It's usually the mos
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CalifJimEither "All this was for ..." or better, "All this was done for ..." or even "They did all this for ...".
Those words may help in clarifying the meaning. However, the point I have been trying to make to psj in several threads is that they have not been 'omitted;. They were never there in the speaker's mind.
CalifJimPeople tend t
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fivejedjonThose words may help in clarifying the meaning.
That's all I'm trying to do.
fivejedjonThey were never there in the speaker's mind.
I think that's debatable. In the case at hand, the speaker had in mind everything he had just said as the subject of his subject-less sentence. People don't speak in incomplete senten
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CalifJimWe'll just have to agree to disagree on this point.
I agree.
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Thank you, Mr.Jim, very much for your valuable answer. Emotion: smile

1) "All this was for a decision that seemed so obvious we've for
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Sorry, I think I didn't catch the meaning of #3.
3) "They did all this for a decision that seemed so obvious we've forgotten which of us suggested it."
If you meant the people who offered encouragement to the couple by 'They', this sentence is most reasonable, I think.
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