Grammarian-bot  +  329036 Wed, 14 Feb 07 04:19 AM Is descendant of an idiom or a verb preposition combination? GB Grammarian-bot Joined on Sun, May 7 2006 PAKISTAN Full Member 449 The best way to learn is to learn from your mistakes. Verbs, Prepositions, Idioms

	Pioussoul  +  329056 Wed, 14 Feb 07 05:23 AM  Grammarian-bot wrote: Is descendant of an idiom or a verb preposition combination? GB We are not sure what you mean. Pioussoul Joined on Mon, Jan 22 2007 nowhere and everywhere Full Member 246 I have been captivated by and lost in a fool's paradise for too long to see the truth. Verbs, Prepositions, Idioms

	Philip  +  329064 Wed, 14 Feb 07 05:51 AM  Grammarian-bot wrote: Is descendant of an idiom or a verb preposition combination? GB I am a descendant (noun) of (preposition) Hessian soldiers who came to the colonies to fight for the British during the American Revolution. Philip Joined on Thu, Jun 23 2005 Veteran Member 8,738 At reise er at leve! - H. C. Andersen Verbs, Prepositions, Nouns, Idioms

	CalifJim  +  329068 Wed, 14 Feb 07 06:03 AM Is descendant of an idiom or a verb preposition combination? Neither.  There is nothing about it that isn't literal, so it isn't an idiom, and there is no verb in it, so it can't be a verb-preposition combination either. CJ CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,465 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Verbs, Prepositions, Idioms

	Pioussoul  +  329074 Wed, 14 Feb 07 06:13 AM  CalifJim wrote: Is descendant of an idiom or a verb preposition combination? Neither.  There is nothing about it that isn't literal, so it isn't an idiom, and there is no verb in it, so it can't be a verb-preposition combination either. CJ Thanks, CJ, for your interpretation; now I see: Is "descendant of" an idiom or a verb-preposition combination? Pioussoul Verbs, Prepositions, Idioms

	Grammarian-bot  +  329811 Fri, 16 Feb 07 04:10 AM  CalifJim wrote: Is descendant of an idiom or a verb preposition combination? Neither.  There is nothing about it that isn't literal, so it isn't an idiom, and there is no verb in it, so it can't be a verb-preposition combination either. CJ Can you tell me what are idioms and how do we identify them? I called "descendant of" an idiom because the guys on the the other forum that I go to to prepare for GMAT said it so. But I know these guys aren't as good as ENGLISHFORUMS.COM guys. Here is the link to this question. http://www.scoretop.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=5714&PN=20 GB Grammarian-bot Verbs, Prepositions, Idioms

	CalifJim  +  329830 Fri, 16 Feb 07 05:53 AM GB, Please note that the person who called descendant of an idiom also misspelled descendant!  In comparing the combinations descendant of and descendant from, it would be correct to say that descendant of is the more idiomatic usage.  This does not mean that descendant of is an idiom.  Nevertheless, sometimes people say idiom when they mean idiomatic usage.  It's just a matter of being in a hurry when responding to a post, I suppose. An idiom is a group of words which has a meaning that cannot be known simply by knowing the literal meaning of each of the words contained within it.  For example, kick the bucket is an idiom which means die.  Even if we know what kick means, and we know what bucket means, this is not enough to know that kick the bucket means die.  I think you can see that this is completely different from the problem of choosing the proper preposition for a given noun or verb, which is a matter of idiomatic usage. CJ CalifJim Verbs, Prepositions, Nouns, Idioms

	Grammarian-bot  +  330191 Sat, 17 Feb 07 05:23 AM Thanks CJ. Now everything is clear. GB Grammarian-bot Verbs, Prepositions, Idioms