Chanyiupan  +  814201 Fri, 10 Jul 09 07:48 PM   'It is not necessarily these small languages that are about to disappear.'   I can understand the SENTENCE STRUCTURE. What do the words 'not necessarily' refer to? Chanyiupan Joined on Fri, Jul 10 2009 New Member 03 Sentences, Structures, Languages

	Clive  +  814320 Fri, 10 Jul 09 10:17 PM Hi, 'It is not necessarily these small languages that are about to disappear.'   I can understand the SENTENCE STRUCTURE. Consider this simpler and more concrete example.   Tom's car won't start. It is not necessarily the battery. It might be out of gas.   The underlined sentence means 'For the car not to start, it is not necessary that the battery is dead' 'The battery may not be the problem'.   In your example, here's the general meaning. Some languages are going to disappear. It is not necessary that the small languages disappear. It may be the medium ones or the big ones that disapper.   What do the words 'not necessarily' refer to? I see the words 'not necessarily' as an adverbial phrase' modifying 'is'.   Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,679 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 Sentences, Structures, Languages

	Clive  +  814629 Sat, 11 Jul 09 03:51 AM Hi, Could be.    Still, the main point is it's adverbial in nature.   Best wishes, Clive   Clive Sentences, Structures