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Like Bertie Russell! ----- Original Message ----- From: Diana Manister To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 9:51 AM Subject: Re: On the Making of a Simile How does a foetus laugh? Diana Nancy writes: "So the only question that makes grammatical sense is whether the comparison is between Apollinax and a foetus or between the way Apollinax laughs and the way a foetus laughs. Nancy" > > I don't know what the point is supposed to be here, but the grammatical subject of the sentence is "He." "Laugh" is not even in it: the word is "laughed"--a verb. The core sentence is "he laughed." The rest is modifiers. There may be a difficulty with "like" because it is, in current terms, an adjective and compares nouns, as in "he was like a foetus." But it has been, and colloquially now is, used as an adverb, as in "he laughed like a foetus laughed." > > There is no way "laugh" can be the subject of a sentence in which it does not even appear and is in a verb form slotted where verbs are. "Foetal" never appears either, only the noun "foetus." > > In modern English these forms are not interchangeable and syntax determines their function. When Eliot intends a noun/verb form for "laugh," he uses "laughter," as in the following line and the second line. One does have to read what is there and not what is not there. > > So the only question that makes grammatical sense is whether the comparison is between Apollinax and a foetus or between the way Apollinax laughs and the way a foetus laughs. > Nancy > > >>> Diana Manister <[log in to unmask]> 03/06/08 10:58 AM >>> > > > > But then wouldn't "laugh" be the subject of the sentence, with "foetal" modifying it? > His laugh then would be both foetal and irresponsible. Diana > Exactly. That's the point I've been trying to make. > Thanks for putting it so cogently, Peter. > > CR > > Peter Montgomery <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > > > No. //A laugh is capable of showing undeveloped (foetal) characteristics.// > P. > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Diana Manister > To: [log in to unmask] > Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2008 6:52 AM > Subject: Re: On the Making of a Simile > Peter, so you are saying "a foetal characteristic" is capable of laughing? > > > Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. > _________________________________________________________________ > Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. > http://im.live.com/Messenger/IM/Home/?source=text_hotmail_join ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Helping your favorite cause is as easy as instant messaging. You IM, we give. Learn more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.6/1316 - Release Date: 3/6/2008 6:58 PM