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Seagull Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
urge A on
I followed after him and saw a second small dog standing in the water, perhaps to show support to a third dog lying in the dirty stream. She was lying on her side, a front foot caught in an old metal spring.
I bent down beside her to take a closer look, a dog on each side to urge me on. Then I gently lifted her out of the water and onto the grass.
In the above passage:
Q1 Grammatically, how does the part "a dog on each side to urge me on" work in the sentence? Is it a kind of participle structure, meaning "as a dog on each side urged me on"?
Q2 What idea does the "on" in the phrase "to urge me on" represent? Maybe, "to continue"?
I bent down beside her to take a closer look, a dog on each side to urge me on. Then I gently lifted her out of the water and onto the grass.
In the above passage:
Q1 Grammatically, how does the part "a dog on each side to urge me on" work in the sentence? Is it a kind of participle structure, meaning "as a dog on each side urged me on"?
Q2 What idea does the "on" in the phrase "to urge me on" represent? Maybe, "to continue"?
Top answer
Dear Seagull, Q1 This is an adverbial phrase, which gives more information about the narrator's activity. "To urge" (= in order to urge") has been chosen - rather than "urging" - to express the idea of the dogs' purpose in being in those places, as opposed to their activity. They hadn't yet started "urging him on" at the time of writing.
- Dear Seagull, Q1 This is an adverbial phrase, which gives more information about the narrator's activity.
- "To urge" (= in order to urge") has been chosen - rather than "urging" - to express the idea of the dogs' purpose in being in those places, as opposed to their activity.
- They hadn't yet started "urging him on" at the time of writing.
- Q2 Your suspicion is right.
- "To urge on" is a standard phrasal verb.
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2 Answers
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Dear Seagull,
Q1 This is an adverbial phrase, which gives more information about the narrator's activity. "To urge" (= in order to urge") has been chosen - rather than "urging" - to express the idea of the dogs' purpose in being in those places, as opposed to their activity. They hadn't yet started "urging him on" at the time of writing.
Q2 Your suspicion is right. "To urge on
Q1 This is an adverbial phrase, which gives more information about the narrator's activity. "To urge" (= in order to urge") has been chosen - rather than "urging" - to express the idea of the dogs' purpose in being in those places, as opposed to their activity. They hadn't yet started "urging him on" at the time of writing.
Q2 Your suspicion is right. "To urge on
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I understand.
Thank you so much for your clear explanation, Michael.
Thank you so much for your clear explanation, Michael.
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