Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[leslie]

Hi,

I was much puzzled by this expression--I'll be arrived. Isn't 'arrive' an intransitive verb? I was wondering the usage above but wasn't sure if I was right. Does it sound natural? And, what does it mean? I read this line from Alanis Morissette's lyrics. Quoted partly as follows:

[Bob S.]

It does not sound natural. It sounds like it is being used in a slang form (which means an odd grammatical structure).
In a slang sense, to say a person "has arrived" means they have arrived at a successful point in their career in terms of money or fame.
i.e. Two years ago, nobody heard of him. But now he has really arrived, with big label recording contracts and a starring role in a new big-budget movie.

To stretch the grammar, you could use the past participle form as an adjective. i.e. He is an arrived celebrity. The lyric writer was taking extra linguistic license to use it as a predicate adjective. (You have to do that sometimes when writing poetry or music.)
_________________
"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper

[leslie]

Thank you, Bob S. I've got the picture now. Thank you for your explanation.
_________________
Less Is Blessed