0
Tinanam0102 Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

to make her catch her breath

Hi teachers,

As it was, the jar made her catch her breath.

I have two questions:

1. what does it mean?
2. why the sentence was separated by a comma?

Thanks
  

Top answer

1. I imagine that the jar was a bump of some kind. She stopped breathing in the middle of drawing a breath.

— Enoon

  • 1.
  • I imagine that the jar was a bump of some kind.
  • She stopped breathing in the middle of drawing a breath.
  • The "as it was" refers to something that came before in whatever you are reading, I can't know what.
  • 2.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

5 Answers
0
1. I imagine that the jar was a bump of some kind. She stopped breathing in the middle of drawing a breath. The "as it was" refers to something that came before in whatever you are reading, I can't know what.

2. An introductory clause normally takes a comma, and it always does when the reader would be misled without it. Without the comma, the reader sees "it was the jar", and it was not.
0
0
She was awakened by a shock, so sudden and severe that if Dorothy had not been lying on the soft bed she might have been hurt. As it was, the jar made her catch her breath and wonder what had happened; and Toto put his cold little nose into her face and whined dismally.


jar - a sudden jolt or shock.
catch her breath -
If a very fat man runs to catch a
0
0
AlpheccaStars "Catch one's breath" often means to stop for a short period of recuperation.
Right. Good catch, A-Stars.
0
0
Hi AlpheccaStars,

Does this 'jar' basically referring to "She was awakened by a shock?

Thanks
0
0
Does this 'jar' basically referring to "She was awakened by a shock?

A jar is sudden, violent physical movement, such as would be experienced in a car crash. A sound can also be jarring - if it is violent and uncomfortable.

A shock is more of an emotional affront to one's senses, or the experience of touching a live electric wire.
0

Related Questions