ESL General English Grammar Questions

ESL General English Grammar Questionshttp://www.englishforums.com/English/EslGeneralEnglishGrammar-Questions/Forum12.htmAsk your questions on grammar and get your sentence checked. We answer lots of different types of general English grammar questions here. <font color=red>DO NOT post paragraphs and compositions here. Post them in our <a href="http://www.englishforums.com/English/EssayReportCompositionWriting/Forum9.htm"><b>Essay, Report and Composition Writing Forum</b></a>.</font>enXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)Re: Be Still your Hearthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#688418Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:34:16 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:688418Avangi0http://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#688418http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-688418.xmlRight. You're giving a command (imperative) to your heart. If you were speaking to men, you might say, "Be alert, you guys!" "Be brave, my friends!"Re: Be Still your Hearthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#688397Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:35:28 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:688397HSS1http://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#688397http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-688397.xmlI now understand the structure of the sentence. Thanks, all. Because there wasn't a comma between "still" and "my heart," I couldn't see "still" was an adjective. I was seeing it as "Be (still) my heart." It is "Be still , (my heart)," right? Hiro/ Sendai, JapanRe: Be Still your Hearthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#687984Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:35:47 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:687984CalifJim2http://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#687984http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-687984.xmlI don't see it grammatically. Is this an imperative? Yes. It's an imperative. The speaker is talking to himself / herself, saying "I must calm down. I must control myself. I am overexcited", but it takes the form of commanding his /her heart to beat more slowly. CJRe: Be Still your Hearthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#687928Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:55:53 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:687928Avangi3http://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#687928http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-687928.xmlI take it as imperative. "Get moving, legs!" - (while being chased) Re the heart, it's pounding because I'm in the throes of an amorous attraction. While there is the element of sarcasm, when the first person is the speaker there's also an element of sincerity. The speaker is aware of the inordinateness of the emotion, and she welcomes it. As pure sarcasm, it might be said as an aside, by A to B, in reference to C, perhaps in a mocking way.Re: Be Still your Hearthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#687927Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:35:08 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:687927RayH4http://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htm#687927http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-687927.xmlI can't speak for the book, never having read it, but "be still my heart" is a fairly well known idiom. In contemporary English, the expression is usually used sarcastically to imply that a situation is not nearly as exciting as has been suggested. Edit: Sorry about the messed up link. Click on the first part to get to the wiktionary page.Be Still your Hearthttp://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htmTue, 17 Mar 2009 23:28:02 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:687926HSS5http://www.englishforums.com/English/BeStillYourHeart/wvrgv/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-687926.xml"Be Still my Heart" This is the title of a book written by Patricia Hermes. I don't see it grammatically. Is this an imperative? Does this mean "Be still my young self," or "Keep my self, don't change"? Hiro/ Sendai, Japan