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Park sang joon Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The room was almost bare [of furniture]
The protagonist came to Paris to become a painter.
He goes to the studio Amitrano.
.................................................
She had never given anyone to understand that she was poorer than the rest, but it was clear that her money had been coming to an end, and at last she could not afford to come any more to the studio. The little room was almost bare of furniture, and there were no other clothes than the shabby brown dress she had always worn.
[Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham]
I'd like to know if the adjectival phrase "of furniture" modifies "bare."
Thank you in advance for your help.
He goes to the studio Amitrano.
.................................................
She had never given anyone to understand that she was poorer than the rest, but it was clear that her money had been coming to an end, and at last she could not afford to come any more to the studio. The little room was almost bare of furniture, and there were no other clothes than the shabby brown dress she had always worn.
[Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham]
I'd like to know if the adjectival phrase "of furniture" modifies "bare."
Thank you in advance for your help.
Top answer
" Yes, you can say that, though many grammarians these days might say that "of furniture" is a complement of "bare" rather than a modifier. The same structure occurs in "afraid of spiders" and "devoid of charm". CJ
- " Yes, you can say that, though many grammarians these days might say that "of furniture" is a complement of "bare" rather than a modifier.
- The same structure occurs in "afraid of spiders" and "devoid of charm".
- CJ
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6 Answers
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park sang joonI'd like to know if the adjectival phrase "of furniture" modifies "bare."Yes, you can say that, though many grammarians these days might say that "of furniture" is a complement of "bare" rather than a modifier. The same structure occurs in "afraid of spiders" and "devoid of charm".
CJ
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park sang joonThe protagonist came to Paris to become a painter.He goes to the studio Amitrano..................................................She had never given anyone to understand that she was poorer than the rest, but it was clear that her money had been coming to an end, and at last she could not afford to come any more to the studio. The little room was almost bar
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AnonymousIs "bare of furniture" a genitive construction despite expressing the relation between two different parts of speech, i.e. between an adjective and noun?It depends on your definition of "genitive construction". I don't see any reason to call it that. Maybe you can ask your question in a different way?
CJ
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CalifJimIt depends on your definition of "genitive construction". I don't see any reason to call it that. Maybe you can ask your question in a different way?In my native tongue we decline nouns and adjectives. So, I've translated "bare of furniture" into my language and that translation (in Polish) shows genitive case in my tongue grammar. And I wonder whethe
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Anonymousshows genitive case in my tongue grammar. And I wonder whether it is the same case in EnglishStrictly speaking, English does not have a genitive case, though we translate most instances of the genitive case in other languages with an "of" phrase. In that sense, "of furniture" is genitive, but I doubt very much that today's grammarians of English wou
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CalifJim bare of furniture could never in a million years be expressed as furniture's bare.Thank you for that fine explanation.
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