Forum newsfeeds 
|  | | Notices | You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly at the top of your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice house the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion. | 
03-Jan-2008, 07:39
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Country: Vietnam
Posts: 684
Current Location: America First Language: Vietnamese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 6
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
| |  The result is fascinating but frustrating.
http://vva.org/veteran/0607/books.html
In the article about Pham Xuan An, they said: Quote: |
n this first full-length English language biography of Pham Xuan An, Larry Berman explores An’s life sympathetically and with verve. A professor at the University of California, Davis, historian, and author (No Peace, No Honor: Nixon, Kissinger and Betrayal in Vietnam), Berman is well-equipped for this story. He met An at a dinner in Ho Chi Minh City, became fascinated with him, and made a succession of visits to further their acquaintance. Along the way, he achieved unparalleled access to his subject and became his authorized biographer. The result is fascinating but frustrating. | What does but mean here in the last sentence? |
03-Jan-2008, 11:50
|  | Moderator | | Join Date: Oct 2006 Country: UK
Posts: 16,446
Current Location: UK First Language: English Member Type: Other Thanks: 5
Thanked 3,726 Times in 3,499 Posts
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
...and is also... |
03-Jan-2008, 12:04
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Country: Vietnam
Posts: 684
Current Location: America First Language: Vietnamese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 6
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Can we interpret it as however?
Besides, I haven't seen but means also |
03-Jan-2008, 12:21
|  | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2007 Country: .
Posts: 1,084
Current Location: Spain First Language: . Member Type: English Teacher Thanks: 167
Thanked 139 Times in 125 Posts
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by belly_ttt  Can we interpret it as however?
Besides, I haven't seen but meaning also | I believe you are quite right. I would interpret this "but" as however, on the other hand...
cheers  |
03-Jan-2008, 13:06
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Country: Vietnam
Posts: 684
Current Location: America First Language: Vietnamese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 6
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Could you explain to me why we need a gerund here? meaning but not means? |
03-Jan-2008, 13:32
| | Member | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Country: US
Posts: 114
Current Location: Catalonia First Language: English Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 0
Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by belly_ttt Could you explain to me why we need a gerund here? meaning but not means? | Because with verbs of perception (see, hear, watch, etc.), the action that the subject perceives another person or object doing is expressed either with a bare infinitive or a gerund, but never an inflected form:
I saw him come in.
I saw him coming in.
The difference is slight, but the infinitive implies that the action is definitely finished.
Lou |
03-Jan-2008, 13:54
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Jul 2007 Country: Vietnam
Posts: 684
Current Location: America First Language: Vietnamese Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 6
Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Ok, then it should be correct to use bare infinitive here, shouldn't it? |
03-Jan-2008, 14:00
| | Member | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Country: US
Posts: 114
Current Location: Catalonia First Language: English Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 0
Thanked 6 Times in 6 Posts
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by belly_ttt Ok, then it should be correct to use bare infinitive here, shouldn't it? | Yes. For me, "Besides, I haven't seen but mean also" is correct.
Lou |
03-Jan-2008, 19:34
| | Senior Member | | Join Date: Feb 2007 Country: .
Posts: 1,084
Current Location: Spain First Language: . Member Type: English Teacher Thanks: 167
Thanked 139 Times in 125 Posts
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
Quote:
Originally Posted by louhevly Yes. For me, "Besides, I haven't seen but mean also" is correct.
Lou | Yes, Lou, I agree with this. I mainly made the correction because of the "s" (means)
cheers |
03-Jan-2008, 20:32
| | Newbie | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Country: Singapore
Posts: 21
Current Location: Singapore First Language: English Member Type: Student or Learner Thanks: 2
Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
| | Re: The result is fascinating but frustrating.
The author uses two words to express the result of Pham Xuan An and Larry Berman working together: fascinating, and frustrating. He had to use a conjunction to hold the sentence together, and yes, he could have used and instead. The but here essential does the same job as and, a conjunction, however was used here instead of and because of the difference in connotation: fascinating was positive while frustrating was negative. If it was fantastic instead of frustrating, he would have used and; if it was frivolous instead of fascinating, he would too, have used and. | | Thread Tools | | | | Display Modes |  Linear Mode | 
Posting Rules
| You may post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | All times are GMT. The time now is 10:21. | |
