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wanderer
Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 46
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Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 6:39 pm Post subject: I cn't find the verb here!!! |
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The stark recurring image of a shadowy figure, tearing through the woods running from something, or the nonsensical flash of images seemingly without meaning.
Where is the verb???? |
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lotus

Joined: 25 Jan 2004 Posts: 862
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Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:34 pm Post subject: |
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Hi wanderer,
There is none. There are two subjects, image and flash.
--lotus |
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Lorikeet

Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 1877 Location: San Francisco
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Posted: Mon Mar 13, 2006 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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Hmm. To me it seems like it isn't a complete sentence. (I guess I need a verb. ). |
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wanderer
Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 46
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Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 6:14 pm Post subject: |
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So do you guys reckon this sentence is wrong??? |
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bud
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US
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Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 7:54 pm Post subject: |
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Wanderer, "tearing through the woods running from something" is an explanatory clause. It's not essential to the structure of the sentence, so let's simplify the sentence by removing it. We're left with:
The stark recurring image of a shadowy figure or the nonsensical flash of images seemingly without meaning.
Let's simplify further by removing the adjectives and "seemingly without meaning." (I'm not sure what to call that phrase, but that is not essential to the structure, either. Nor are the adjectives) We're left with:
The image of a shadowy figure or the flash of images.
Do you have any ideas about what we should do to fix it? |
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wanderer
Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 46
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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 4:45 pm Post subject: |
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Dear Bud,
Honestly speaking, I don't have any idea how to fix it.  |
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bud
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 2111 Location: New Jersey, US
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Posted: Wed Mar 15, 2006 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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Oh no! That means I have to try, and I'm not sure I can, either!
So is this your sentence or a sentence you saw?.. And you see that it is incomplete, right? You see that it needs a main verb or a final clause?
The main problem that I see is the "or." Why "or" and not "and?" It doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
But here we go (anyone feel free to correct me, please):
The image of a shadowy figure or the flash of images will haunt the hunter for a long time.
Then we can add the non-essentails back in:
The stark recurring image of a shadowy figure, or the nonsensical flash of images seemingly without meaning, will haunt the (lurking) hunter for a long time.
And now the last deleted clause:
The stark recurring image of a shadowy figure, tearing through the woods running from something, or the nonsensical flash of images seemingly without meaning, will haunt the lurking hunter for a long time.
Except for the "or" and its incompleteness, it's a pretty interesting sentence. I'd want to keep reading.
I hope that helps at least a little, Wanderer!  |
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wanderer
Joined: 14 Nov 2005 Posts: 46
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Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for your elaborate explanation.
This is a sentence I saw from a magazine |
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esl student
Joined: 17 Mar 2006 Posts: 7
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Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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tearing and running are verbs. DUH. I only learning english for short while and i know that. |
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