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|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 346 responses total. |
rcurl
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|
response 225 of 346:
| 
May 4 21:35 UTC 1995 |
"Anticipatory 'it' heralds a deferred subject; 'it' cannot be used
when there is no subject to herald; ... 'it' neither has any meaning of
its own nor represents anything else." (Nicholson after Fowler, _American-
English Usage_) In the use as an anticipatory, 'it' does not function
as a pronoun.
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otterwmn
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|
response 226 of 346:
|
May 5 02:30 UTC 1995 |
I knew Rane would have the answer! =)
|
popcorn
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response 227 of 346:
|
May 5 16:10 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
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rcurl
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response 228 of 346:
|
May 5 19:24 UTC 1995 |
That sentence has an implicit ("here") heralded subject.
|
popcorn
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response 229 of 346:
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May 6 13:41 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
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rcurl
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|
response 230 of 346:
|
May 6 18:31 UTC 1995 |
As I said, it is *not* a pronoun in this context - it is a "anticipatory
herald". As the quote from Fowler says, you cannot substitute for the
"it" as it has no antecedent. "It" does not *mean* "here", it heralds
it. It is a different part of speech.
|
srw
|
|
response 231 of 346:
|
May 7 06:44 UTC 1995 |
I think Valerie made it quite clear that she thinks of the "it"
as being a substitute for "the state of the world".
I think of "it" as a substitute for "The state of things", myself.
I prefer to do that than be told to find another meaning for "it" than
as a pronoun. Maybe it's just the engineer in me.
|
rcurl
|
|
response 232 of 346:
|
May 7 07:53 UTC 1995 |
In the usage under discussion, Fowler avoided calling "it" a pronoun. We
can lump it with the pronouns too, as does my dictionary, but for this
usage, it says "'It' is used as: a) the subject of an impersonal verb
*without reference to agent* ('it' is snowing)" (emphasis added). There
are related usages, such as the 'it' in "To lord it over someone.", where
'it' is an object of indefinite sense. In all these cases, the common
feature is that 'it' has no identifiable antecedent. I suppose if it helps
you to understand its use, linking it to "the state of things" may be
useful, but clearly the phrase cannot be substituted for 'it'. (To lord
the state of things over someone???)
|
srw
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response 233 of 346:
|
May 7 20:16 UTC 1995 |
I certainly don't think of "it" in "lord it over" the same way I think of
"it" in "it is snowing". "lord it" is as in "lording one's attitude" i.e.,
"acting like a lord over" -- the only connection I can see between the two
is that Fowler wanted to make exceptions out of both because *he* couldn't
think of what the "it" referred to in either case.
|
rcurl
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|
response 234 of 346:
|
May 8 06:35 UTC 1995 |
_Weiss' Modern American-English Usage_?
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srw
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response 235 of 346:
|
May 8 06:53 UTC 1995 |
Weiss's :-)
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tsty
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response 236 of 346:
|
May 8 12:54 UTC 1995 |
... then what is the plural?
|
popcorn
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response 237 of 346:
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May 8 13:40 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
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popcorn
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response 238 of 346:
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May 8 13:40 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
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rcurl
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response 239 of 346:
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May 8 16:29 UTC 1995 |
(Argh...we went through all that once.."Steve's")
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sbj
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response 240 of 346:
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May 8 20:48 UTC 1995 |
There can be only won weiss. Else you just say it in another, easier,
language.
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tsty
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response 241 of 346:
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May 9 05:42 UTC 1995 |
Much better than a lost weiss ...
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srw
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|
response 242 of 346:
|
May 9 07:32 UTC 1995 |
The plural is Weisses' (fwiw)
There are many Weisses, btw.
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otterwmn
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response 243 of 346:
|
May 11 16:56 UTC 1995 |
Just a reminder to all the people who've told me about their summer job plans:
<screaming> Waitress is NOT a verb!!
Thank you for your kind indulgence.
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scg
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response 244 of 346:
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May 11 19:31 UTC 1995 |
In other words, you don't want people to verb nouns? ;)
|
popcorn
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response 245 of 346:
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May 11 22:39 UTC 1995 |
This response has been erased.
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otterwmn
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response 246 of 346:
|
May 12 04:09 UTC 1995 |
<otterwmn bows to scg, and smiles a wry smile> Good one, Steve.
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rcurl
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response 247 of 346:
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May 12 06:53 UTC 1995 |
But the waitress waits while the waiter waits.
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srw
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response 248 of 346:
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May 12 14:55 UTC 1995 |
One of the techwriters at my office has taken to broadcasting a
"Verbed noun alert" when she encounters one in an office memo or
official document. It's a riot, and the embarrassment value appears to
be having an effect.
The last revelation was that someone had thanked another for doing
such a good job of minuting the meeting. There was much ensuing discussion
over the proper pronunciation (where the stress goes) in the "word",
'minuting'.
|
rcurl
|
|
response 249 of 346:
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May 12 20:36 UTC 1995 |
Minute is a legitimate verb, meaning: 1. to time to the minute 2. a) to
make a minute or memorandum, of; record b) to put in the minutes of a
meeting , etc. (from Webster's New World Dict.)
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