Tag: Ellipsis

Users of this car park do so at their own risk

A couple of times recently, I have seen disclaimers saying ‘Users of this car park do so at their own risk’. The meaning is clear, but this is an odd usage. Why is that usage odd? Usually, ‘do so’ is used only to replace a verbal phrase that repeats the same verbal phrase used earlier…… Continue reading Users of this car park do so at their own risk

Addicted to ‘right node raising’

In this post, I look at a construction that I often saw in drafts of documents I was reviewing. Although the construction is grammatical and concise, readers find it difficult to process. I explain what this construction is and why it is difficult. I also summarise a published review of some of the vast linguistics…… Continue reading Addicted to ‘right node raising’

Passive in Japanese

This post looks at the passive in Japanese. In earlier posts, I: explained 3 features of the passive construction, focusing on English https://languagemiscellany.com/2022/03/what-is-the-passivelooked at how 2 Bantu languages (Swahili and Chichewa) implement those 3 features. https://languagemiscellany.com/2022/04/the-passive-in-2-bantu-languages Background: passive In my earlier post, I explained that the passive construction: deletes or demotes the subject of the…… Continue reading Passive in Japanese

Doing work and playing roles in Italian

Several constructions in Italian use the verb fare (‘do’, ‘make’). Two of these constructions look very similar on the surface but syntactically they behave in very different ways. A short book Fare: Elementi di sintassi, by Nunzio La Fauci and Ignazio M Mirto (2003) analyses them. Here are 2 examples: (1) Adamo fa il medicoAdam…… Continue reading Doing work and playing roles in Italian

Infinitives in lists

The purpose of this post is to: discuss two ways of presenting infinitives in lists; explore the nature of infinitives preceded by to; andconclude on how to present infinitives preceded by to. Infinitives in lists My ex-colleague Michael Butcher, who was Editorial Director of the IFRS Foundation from around 2001 to around 2011, would have…… Continue reading Infinitives in lists