1) What is the difference between reverential and reverent?

Joined on Mon, Feb 19 2007

Regular Member (591)

Clive

#545543 Wed, 23 Jul 08 05:21 PM

Hi,

1) What is the difference between reverential and reverent? Not much, except what a dictionary will show.

I'd say 'reverent' would be more often used for a person, and 'reverential' for a thing, eg, a book.

2)John~~lied~~ lay recumbent and unconcious or recumbently and unconciously? These are adjectives that describe John.

3) As after all I was not a bad little boy but I was shy and covered it up by bravado

Why do we have As here? Dunno, seems wrong. What's the context?

Best wishes, Clive

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (21,232)

El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

Belly

#545688 Thu, 24 Jul 08 03:42 AM

This is the whole context for John:

He could not, for he was lying recumbent and unconscious on the carefully tended garden.

I think if it was lay here, it must be laying
So, if you replace it with laid, you are describing the state John is in, right?

What about the context above?

Clive

#545699 Thu, 24 Jul 08 04:01 AM

Hi,

He was lying on the table. Intransitive verb (no object) He was recumbent on the table.

He was laying plates on the table. Transitive verb, with object He was putting plates on the table.

Bob was laid on the table (by Tom). Passive voice. Tom put Bob on the table.

Best wishes, Clive

Verbs, Difference between

Belly

#545750 Thu, 24 Jul 08 06:17 AM

So that means we have to modify the original sentence into "recumbently and unconciously"?

Clive

#545907 Thu, 24 Jul 08 02:46 PM

Hi,
He could not, for he was lying recumbent and unconscious on the carefully tended garden.

So that means we have to modify the original sentence into "recumbently and unconciously"?
No, these are adjectives.
For example, you could rearrange the sentence as follows, to make it clearer that they relate to 'he'..

He could not, for, recumbent and unconscious, he was lying on the carefully tended garden.

Best wishes, Clive

Belly

#545912 Thu, 24 Jul 08 03:04 PM

But lie is no link verb, so how can we add adj here?

Verbs, Difference between

Clive

#545918 Thu, 24 Jul 08 03:12 PM

Hi,
Think of it as an unusual placement of the adjectives. They are not related to the verb at all.
You could write it thus.
He could not, for he was lying, recumbent and unconscious, on the carefully tended garden.
He could not, for he was lying - recumbent and unconscious - on the carefully tended garden.
He could not, for he was lying (recumbent and unconscious) on the carefully tended garden.

Clive