Okay, maybe I’m freakish, and if I am, don’t reply to this (well, there went any response I could have hoped for, but anyhow…), but if I’m not…
I actually thought it would be sort of entertaining to be able to debate some of the symbols and sentences without having to violate the terms of the OP, if you can dig the vibe I’m laying down…
F’rinstance. I think it’s perfectly reasonable - nay, a necessity - to allow “originally posted by,” because…well, you sorta can’t help it if you reply with quote. I cut and paste, myself, but it’s a necessary evil.
I question the use of “=” as an option, because it MEANS, “equals.” In my post, I said, “You da bomb, Master.” If I had said, “You ARE da bomb, Master,” Id’ve violated the unstated rules of the therad.
“originally posted by” is short for “this phrase is originally posted by Bob” where “Phrase” is the subject, “is” is the verb, and “originally posted by Bob” is the gerund phrase describing the subject “phrase”. No verbs were harmed in that posting.
Agreement on the “=” thing. That is verbage, but “You da BOMB” is slang which omits the verb “are”. Legal tender.
Not a stupid idea. We need to stamp out ignorance.
Yeah… we especially need to stamp out ignorance about gerunds.
And stamp out ignorance about agreement of tenses.
And stamp out the belief that phrases cannot include individual words.
Seriously… to say that if “posted” is included in the phrase “originally posted by Bob” it shouldn’t also be seen as a word on its own, you’re also arguing that the noun “Bob” doesn’t exist in the sentence. And, incidentally (as I was taught when I was nine, and I have verified just now) all gerunds end with -ing.
I really must apologise… I feel I am creating aggro where none need be. I’m the last person who should be criticising others on their use of language - especially as I really don’t mind if our language changes over time or not, and almost always use poorly constructed sentences myself. I often write “it’s” when I want to indicate posession. I just get angry when people talk about i) gerunds or ii) split infinitives, because they tried to teach me latin when I was little. I am just an arrogant newbie, and should have more respect for others’ opinions. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry.
What you folks need is a linguist, or at least a linguistics major
Anyway, as for participial phrases:
(hauls out his copy of O’Grady and Dobrovolsky)
IP
/ \________
NP VP_______________
/ \ / | \
Pron N VP Adv PP
| | / \ | / \
This phrase V V originally P NP
| | . | |
is posted : by N
: |
^..........: Bob
We can see here that “posted” is not an adjective, as might be expected, but a verb, part of the verb phrase “is originally posted by Bob” and the sub-verb-phrase “is posted”.
The same goes for gerunds:
IP_____
/ \
NP VP
/__\ / \_____
FriendofGod VP PP_
/ \ | \
V V P NP
| | | |\
is acting like | \
Mod N
| \
a putz.
In this sentence, “acting” is the participle of the verb “to act”, in the modal verb “is acting”. It patterns as a verb.
So yes, gerund verbs are still verbs.
As for “You da bomb,” that comes from a sociolect (AAVE, or African-American Vernacular English) that permits copula-dropping (“to be” is a copula, not a predicate; the predicate is the rest of the sentence except the subject.) (It seems to me that German also permits copula-dropping, yes?) Since the sentence has dropped the verb, “You da bomb” is a permissible verbless sentence.
I’d like a ruling on phrases/words that are employed as interjections but still contain *verbs. For example:
Manners: “Please” and “Thank you” both contain verbs, but they’re used as interjections.
Invectives: “Dammit” and “Fuck you” also contain verbs but are used as interjections.
Quaint Shakespearean Interjections: “Prithee” and “Praytell” are also verbs (well, contracted phrases which once contained verbs) that are used as interjections.
“Please” and “thank you”, while containing verbs, long ago lost their verbal status. They are now syntax-free, phatic locutions (interjections). They don’t pattern as verbs.
Thank you, matt-mcl!
One thing - you’ve quoted “this phrase is originally posted by Bob”. Shouldn’t it be “…was originally posted…” It just seems strange to me talking about something that’s happened with “is”. I know you were quoting, and also know that you know more about me than this sort of thing, and will subimt to your judgement - I just want to know!
