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Park sang joon Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

You mean [like] dying dying?

Are you saying he's dying? You mean like dying dying?

I'd like to know here if "like" plays the role a meaningless parenthesis.
Thank you in advance for your help.
  

Top answer

I would say that “like” is asking for clarification that the literal meaning of ‘dying’ is intended rather than the other meaning. He’s dying for a drink, dying to use the washroom, and he’s dying to sit down; but he’ll be fine afterwards. In effect, "dying dying" is a home-made verb.

— Wilpeter

  • I would say that “like” is asking for clarification that the literal meaning of ‘dying’ is intended rather than the other meaning.
  • He’s dying for a drink, dying to use the washroom, and he’s dying to sit down; but he’ll be fine afterwards.
  • In effect, "dying dying" is a home-made verb.
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3 Answers
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I would say that “like” is asking for clarification that the literal meaning of ‘dying’ is intended rather than the other meaning. He’s dying for a drink, dying to use the washroom, and he’s dying to sit down; but he’ll be fine afterwards.
In effect, "dying dying" is a home-made verb.
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The word like could just as easily be replaced by a comma or nothing at all without changing the meaning of the sentence. Sounds pretty meaningless, yup.
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To me, the word ‘like’ is a necessary introduction to a fictitious verb. I don’t use ‘like’ in the throwaway format in common speech. In this case I could instead say, “You mean really dying?” It’s a form of emphasis.
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