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DonnieDarko Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
The use of "was have"
Howdy,
ive have been confused lately because of a grammatical construction i had encountered several times while surfing on the net:
1) The craziest thing i've ever done was have the fedex man come into my workplace....and i did him....
2) What he could have done was have been a little less gross about some of the jokes....
Is this construction even possibe? Or am i right to assume that "was" is in no relation to "have" in a grammatical sense here. The sentences would sound like 2 seperate segments if someone would pronounce them:
1) The craziest thing i've ever done was.........have the fedex man come into my workplace....
2) What he could have done was ........have been a little less gross about some of the jokes....
Am i right with this? I am only familiar with "was have" due to sentences like: I "was having" my hair cut...../ I "am having" my bike repaired.
ive have been confused lately because of a grammatical construction i had encountered several times while surfing on the net:
1) The craziest thing i've ever done was have the fedex man come into my workplace....and i did him....
2) What he could have done was have been a little less gross about some of the jokes....
Is this construction even possibe? Or am i right to assume that "was" is in no relation to "have" in a grammatical sense here. The sentences would sound like 2 seperate segments if someone would pronounce them:
1) The craziest thing i've ever done was.........have the fedex man come into my workplace....
2) What he could have done was ........have been a little less gross about some of the jokes....
Am i right with this? I am only familiar with "was have" due to sentences like: I "was having" my hair cut...../ I "am having" my bike repaired.
Top answer
They have no 'relation'. workplace' is a noun complement in the sentence. It can also be written this way: The craziest thing I've ever done was..
- They have no 'relation'.
- workplace' is a noun complement in the sentence.
- It can also be written this way: The craziest thing I've ever done was..
- to have the Fedex man come into my workplace.
- Cf: My big mistake was practicing too much.
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3 Answers
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They have no 'relation'. 'Have' is an infinitive, and the nonfinite clause ('have...workplace' is a noun complement in the sentence. It can also be written this way:
The craziest thing I've ever done was..to have the Fedex man come into my workplace.
Cf:
My big mistake was practicing too much.
What I want is to
The craziest thing I've ever done was..to have the Fedex man come into my workplace.
Cf:
My big mistake was practicing too much.
What I want is to
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Mister MicawberThe craziest thing I've ever done was..to have the Fedex man come into my workplace.Thanks for the alternative example. Did i understand correctly that "to have the Fedex man come"
is similar to the following examples:
1) "....to have the worker repair my bike"
2) "...to have my hair cut"
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