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collection of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
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Jul 27, 2012 15:53
11 yrs ago
English term

shouldn’t it be “GET more loquacious…”

Non-PRO English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Around that time, he was visiting with one of his roommates from Cornell – “I’m mixing martinis and more loquacious than usual,” he said – and he confided he wanted to leave the law for investment banking, if he could.

Thank you!
Responses
4 +8 am/become
Change log

Jul 27, 2012 15:53: changed "Kudoz queue" from "In queue" to "Public"

Jul 30, 2012 11:27: David Moore (X) changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (3): Tony M, Cilian O'Tuama, David Moore (X)

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Discussion

Tony M Aug 1, 2012:
Perfectly good NS English I really can't understand the comments from those who would seek to criticize this as poor or non-NS English. On the contrary, it is perfectly good EN, though unless indavertent, syllepsis like this is more likely to be used in a literary style than perhaps in everyday speech. And it's not even a question of being technically correct but sounding wrong; if you read it aloud in a natural way, it sounds perfectly fine and the syntax even adds slightly to the humour of the remark; there is really no doubt whatsoever about what the writer meant that might bring into question which other word(s) should have been added — it is perfect just the way it is, and shows that the writer was crafting their work skillfully.

It is not, however, something that learners of English will have covered until quite a long way on in their course.
cc in nyc Jul 28, 2012:
should not be “GET more loquacious" It's perfect as written: "I’m [...] more loquacious than usual" ;-)
claude-andrew Jul 27, 2012:
@Michael This is a very good manual - I've been referring to it for years and I thoroughly recommend it; it's full of examples:
A Handbook of Literary terms
by Françoise Grellet
http://www.amazon.fr/handbook-literary-terms-Introduction-vo...
lorenab23 Jul 27, 2012:
"I'm" is modifying both..
I'm mixing martinis and I'm more loquacious than usual...I don't think anything has been dropped

Responses

+8
9 mins
Selected

am/become

I think that the Martinis made him drop a word! I would suggest the two words above as possibilities, but it is possible that in American English, "get" would be acceptable.
Peer comment(s):
agree Veronika McLaren
2 mins
Thanks, Veronika!
agree jccantrell : Yes, my first thought was "... being more loquacious ..."
16 mins
Thanks, jccantrell! Yes, "being" would also fit...
agree Tony M : No need for a dropped word, the "I'm" qualifies both
1 hr
Thanks, Tony!
agree Mohammad Ali Moinfar (X) : I agree with jccantrell; "being more ..." sounds better.
3 hrs
Thanks, Omid!
agree claude-andrew : Yes, it's an example of a syllepsis - one word (here,"am") having a parallel grammatical relationship tp two words, but with different meanings (am mixing / am more loquacious)
4 hrs
Thanks, Claude-Andrew. That looks like a good book...
agree Bernhard Sulzer : Agree with you; without a second "I'm" or "I'm getting/I get" it sounds off. He probably had a few Martinis or he's not a NS, I'd say. Which NS talks like that? / Yeah, technically possible / How about "... and (doing it) more loquacious(ly)."
8 hrs
Thanks, Bernhard! While I agree with those who say that technically it is correct as it is, to my ear it sounds more natural with the addition of a word. Which word depends on what exactly the speaker intended to express.
agree B D Finch : Agree with Tony and claude-andrew.
20 hrs
Thanks, BD!
agree Phong Le
2 days 11 hrs
Thanks, Phong Le!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
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