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Eipjoo Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Why does she use 'that was'?
In the example:
"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.
Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.
"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape -- she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.
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I don’t understand what this, ‘the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle,’ mean. If it was ‘the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goylle’s,’ then I would have thought that is a relative pronoun. But this is not the case. Then why does she use the ‘that was’?
"You're in luck, Weasley, Potter's obviously spotted some money on the ground!" said Malfoy.
Ron snapped. Before Malfoy knew what was happening, Ron was on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitated, then clambered over the back of his seat to help.
"Come on, Harry!" Hermione screamed, leaping onto her seat to watch as Harry sped straight at Snape -- she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle.
***
I don’t understand what this, ‘the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle,’ mean. If it was ‘the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe, and Goylle’s,’ then I would have thought that is a relative pronoun. But this is not the case. Then why does she use the ‘that was’?
Top answer
There is a whirling object that consists of nothing but fists. That object was the three boys. You are seeing a special construction in English.
- There is a whirling object that consists of nothing but fists.
- That object was the three boys.
- You are seeing a special construction in English.
- More examples: We heard the bell that was the call to dinner.
- We stood staring at the smoking crater and the few wisps of fur that were all that remained of the rabbit that had found our dynamite trap.
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4 Answers
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There is a whirling object that consists of nothing but fists. That object was the three boys.
You are seeing a special construction in English. More examples:
We heard the bell that was the call to dinner.
We stood staring at the smoking crater and the few wisps of fur that were all that remained of the rabbit that had found our dynamite trap. Back to the drawing board.
You are seeing a special construction in English. More examples:
We heard the bell that was the call to dinner.
We stood staring at the smoking crater and the few wisps of fur that were all that remained of the rabbit that had found our dynamite trap. Back to the drawing board.
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When we see this sentence, we need the literary sense or the ability to visualize the scene. The third example you say is the one that mostly gives me the kind of visualization: So the three boys is a whirling mass, we can say the mass is Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle. Is this what you say?
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eipjooWhen we see this sentence, we need the literary sense or the ability to visualize the scene. The third example you say is the one that mostly gives me the kind of visualization: So the three boys is a whirling mass, we can say the mass is Neville, Crabbe, and Goyle. Is this what you say?Yes.
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