In Modals^x, Clauses^x, Constructions^x

Hi, I think the verbs 'vanish' and 'surface' are intransitive verbs. I think that means they take no objects and no passive form is available for them. Does that mean only passive form is not available and other verbal ? constructions are still available to them like attaching...

The list isn't meant to be exhaustive or carefully arranged. Any additions, corrections or further examples would be welcomed. 1 main verbs; lexical verbs (all verbs which are not auxiliaries or modals) 2 action verbs; event verbs; dynamic verbs (a verb which can be used...

Your questions reveal the limitations of the traditional technical vocabulary for discussing grammatical structures! You can think of infinitives as a direct objects of the verb want. On the other hand, want takes a clause as its complement. I want (He helps us). But the...

Let's spread out the issue a little bit: ____ O ____ Type 2. Basic forms . a. If we caught the 10 o'clock train, we would (could, might, etc.) get there by lunch-time. b. If I came into a fortune, I would give up smoking. c. If I knew how it worked, I could...

Hi Bokeh, Becasue of your reply, it made me take a second look at the original question. I also did some research and found this paper written on the subject of Semantic Composition of Subjunctive Conditionals by Michela Ippolito of MIT/Tübingen University. I am not completely sure if I...

Hi Brummel Welcome to the forums. Your reasoning regarding can and could is right, and what causes further problems is the fact that can has a number of meanings. He can play the piano can be put in the past by simply replacing can with could especially if the reference is to skill, ability or...

I too will choose (A). As Kilimanjaro stated, the constructions "so/as+a+noun" are now of rare use but they are still grammatical at least in written English. (A) Siberia was as remote a place as Russians could think of for exiles. =Siberia was as remote as Russians could think of for exiles....

Anonymous wrote: I have seen similar putative sentences. "I am suprised that he should feel lonely."(1) "I am suprised that he feels lonely." I don't remember the exact sentences in Quirk's "A Comprehensive English Grammar". I wonder if the first sentence can be written as "I will be suprised...

Thanks for your reply, MrP. 1. I would call it an exclamatory conditional. The main clause is left unspoken, but we can usually infer it, e.g. "if only she would contact me, I would be very happy". Ok, it’s a conditional with an unexpressed result but still a ‘conditional’ right? In...

1. 'If only she would contact me'. This sentence uses 'if' but there's only one clause so what type of sentence is this? You wouldn't call it a conditional, would you? 2. The above sentence is about a wish and therefore we don't use 'will'. Also, in other such sentences we use the simple...