| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Follesto
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 8
|
 Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 2:44 am Post subject: Having her with her? |
 |
|
Hello,
Here is the passage.
Katherine was Elizabeth's cousin on her mother's side, and the young Queen took a great interest in her new little step-daughter, often having her with her, and playing with her. When she first dined in public, she gave Elizabeth the place of honor opposite her.
What does the 'having' mean exactly?
Thank you. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Suzanne
Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Posts: 283
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
|
| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 6:11 am Post subject: |
|
|
Hello!
In this sentence, "having" means the same as "keeping her with her" or "keeping her nearby."
It might make more sense like this:
Katherine was Elizabeth's cousin on her mother's side, and the young Queen took a great interest in her new little step-daughter, often KEEPING her NEARBY, and playing with her. When she first dined in public, she gave Elizabeth the place of honor opposite her.
Does that help? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Follesto
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 8
|
| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 10:29 pm Post subject: |
|
|
So having her or keeping her nearby means staying with her. Right?
I guess I have caught the meaning of the sentence.
But for anyone who wants to keep the Elizabeth nearby must be with her rather than without her. Anybody on the earth knows that.
So this wierd sentece (of course in my view and I want to know how do native speeks like it) by the author, Heather Thomas, must have something to do with the next 'playing with her'. She might want to wrtie two similar sentences to make her aritcle more beautiful. Am I right?
What do you think of this sentece? Is that common in English articles? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Suzanne
Joined: 21 Apr 2008
Posts: 283
Location: Seattle, WA, USA
|
| Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 5:09 am Post subject: |
|
|
I agree with you--this is an awkward sentence. While it's not really incorrect, it is hard to figure out. You're correct about making it two sentences. "Having her with her" and "playing with her" could be two different things. Katherine might want to just have Elizabeth follow her around, or sit next to her, or just be within her sight. She also seems to like to play with Elizabeth.
If I were rewriting this passage, I would do it this way:
Katherine was Elizabeth's cousin on her mother's side, and the young Queen took a great interest in her new little step-daughter. She often kept Elizabeth by her side, and enjoyed playing with her. When she first dined in public, she gave Elizabeth the place of honor opposite her.
Do you agree? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Follesto
Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 8
|
| Posted: Sun May 04, 2008 2:05 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Yes.That would be easy to understand.
Thank you very much for the replies. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
