Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[fw]

The following passage is from a talk by a photojournalist, who took a picture of a ten-year-old boy who lost his little brother during the war.

(at the crematory)
�The boy was watching there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away.�

I don�t quite get the picture of the second line from the end, especially the phrase �the flame burned low.�
(1) Is the word �low� an adverb or an adjective here?
(2) Could you paraphrase or rewrite the phrase "the flame burned low" for me?

I�d appreciate your help.

[bud]

1. "Low" is an adjective. It means that the fire was dying out, no longer as vibrant as before because it had burned most of its fuel.

2.
The fire was dying out.
The fire was flickering as it was about to die out.

[fw]

Thank you for your reply.

I was really thrilled when I read your answer, because for question #1 all the other native speakers of English I asked this same question had answered me that it was an adverb.

Thanks again.

[bud]

Thank you fw. However, grammar is definitely not my forte so I could be wrong on that point.

Any others out there with an opinion?

[zephyrblows]

Well, our teacher said "burn" here somehow serves as a linking verb. So I guess "low" can be considered as an adjective.

Another possible example is:
All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit quiet in a room alone.
--------------------------------------------
Oh, wait, here's what Oxford said:
low- adv- NEAR BOTTOM
2 in or into a position near the bottom of sth: The candles were burning low.

I'm confused now.

[rice07]

Hi
How do you think that the sentence could leave out "to be" to take "low" as an adjective (The flame burned (to be) low...);otherwise "low" in structure like"A plane's flying low over the town." could be an adverb I guess.
Many hands make a light thing; More discussions make a clearer answer.

[lotus]

Hi Zephyrblows,

I believe your teacher is correct. Linking verbs do not necessarily have to be form "be" verbs. They can be verbs which help reflect the "state of being" of the subject. The technical term is "resulting copulas."

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/verbs.htm#linking

When a flame burns "low", it is near its end (about to expire) -- like a sunset. It is not necessarily describing "how" it's burning as much as the expressive meaning of the burning. It is a metaphoric attribute of the flame; therefore its complement. The sentence itself is a simile, comparing the expiring flame to a sunset.

http://www.onelook.com/?w=simile&ls=a


--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda

[rice07]

Hi Lotus

I think I've got what you said.

The flame burned low....

=>1. If "low" is an adj. in this case =>It tells you about the flame itself (qoted Bud as saying- the fuel of the flame was almost dying out.).

=>2. If "low" is an adv. in this case =>It tells you about how the flame burned.

So according to the context , #1 is appropriate.right?Thanks a lot!

[rice07]

Hi Fw

At first,I'd like to say sorry to you that I don't mean to meddle in your post. However,by discussing,making a correct and clear answer,is a good way of beneffiting those in this forum who see your post,me included. So if there's anything offensive,you've my sincere apology.

[bud]

Holy smokes, I was actually right!

Thank you, Lotus! Your explanations are always smokin'.

Big thanks also to Zephyblows and Rice07!

[fw]

Thank you, all.　I�m learning from all of you.

I�d like to make sure if I understand what �lotus� wrote.

[lotus]

Hi fw,

Yes. Surely, you can interpret it either way. But, in this sentence, I believe it is the adjective complement of the subject flame in "the flame burned low", with burned as the linking verb. Take these selected examples from the linked source.

His face turned purple. (purple face)
The dogs ran wild. (wild dogs)
The milk has gone sour. (sour milk)
The crowd grew ugly. (ugly crowd)

The flame burned low. (low flame)

BTW - I believe it should be "flames" to sound more natural and to be consistent with the first part of the passage.

The flames burned low. (low flames)


--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda

[rice07]

Hi everyone

This's really a delightful discussion and teaching,isn't it?

Hello ,Bud,you're so polite,indeed. In fact,I'm the person who should thank you-for one of the beneficiaries who saw post from you all.By the way,if you don't mind my asking,what do you mean by "Holy smokes" and "sth+be+smokin' " ?

[fw]

Thank you, lotus.

I'd like to ask you one more thing.

[lotus]

Hi fw,

You are correct. Resulting copulas link changed states, or states that are the result of the process indicated by the copula; whereas current copulas link current/existing states.

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/vanassch.htm

In "the flames burned low", you could say that the flame was burning at a low static state and not a changing state. The process of burning is not important. It is simply that the flame is low. It would then be a current copula. The sentence would be equivalent to "The flame was low."

But, we could also interpret it as a process -- the burning process which produced the low flames. This would be a changing state and a resulting copula.

Here's another way to look at it:
Some might argue that in "as the flames burned low..." the copula links a changing state that could be re-phrased as "as the flames burned (from high to) low..." This would be a changing state and a resulting copula.

Also, the original sentence and its context seem to indicate that the flames burned to a low state as the boy watched before he walked away. It is the metaphoric dying of the flames that the boy contemplates before he walks away.

You could interpret the copula in either way. No interpretation would be wrong.


--lotus
_________________
War does not make one great --Yoda