Re: Is 'find useful' elliptical?
It is elliptical, but that's not the ellipsis. It's "find to be useful."
Re: Is 'find useful' elliptical?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Frank Antonson
Mr. Ayed,
There would be nothing wrong with the syntax, and a native English speaker might say that, but there is the problem of the unclear antecedent to "them", which in this case is not a reflexive pronoun but a pronoun acting as the object of a preposition.
The hearer is left a little puzzled by the two possibilities for an antecedent -- "Manufacturers" and "consumers". Logic indicates the second, but it is not perfectly clear.
Frank
I hope I was not off the point..Thank you very much, Frank.
Re: Is 'find useful' elliptical?
You were not off the point at all.
I think it was a good question. In many ways "them" DOES seem reflexive.
Frank