Diagramming Kipling CAT 2

Status
Not open for further replies.

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din! ("Gunga Din")
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
gungadin.gif
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
With all due respect, I can't agree with your diagram, Frank. The reason is this: "than" is a coordinating conjunction. What does it coordinate? Clauses.

[You're a better man] than [I am].

As 'than' links clauses, I would draw the conjunction line between the main verbs.
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
You may be right. Perhaps I was a bit hasty. But, isn't "than" rather a correlative conjunction linking "better" with an understood "good"? That is what I was thinking. "Than" by itself doesn't work as a conjunction. What do you think?
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
"good" is not understood by me. Conjunctions can connect words, phrases, clauses. If 'than' connect words, which two words are those? Phrases? Which? 'than' connects clauses, IMO.
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
You're a better man than I am (a good man), Gunga Din.

I think that the "than" connects the comparative morpheme of "better" with the understood "good".
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
It would be like "You are more intelligent than I am intelligent, Corum".
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
It would be like "You are more intelligent than I am intelligent, Corum".

Or I am better at intellectual posturing than you are good. :)

I will come back. Now I am thinking. ;-)
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
You SO remind me of Kondorosi!

It warms my heart.

I always liked the idea of reincarnation.
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Well, I know the expression. Is something crawling out of the woodwork?

I am enough of a carpenter to know that all kinds of amazing things can come out of the woodwork -- like, once, my grandfather's report card when I was moving the house that he had lived in as a little boy.

Frank
 

corum

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 8, 2010
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Hungarian
Home Country
Hungary
Current Location
Hungary
Was it not this?

MilliganFlossie%20report%20card.jpg


;-)
 

Frank Antonson

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2009
Member Type
English Teacher
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
It looked just like that!

How did you come up with that????

Frank

PS I am not sure that grades were as high.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top