Can anyone please explain this sentence for me?

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seishirou_sama

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Hi everyone, below is the sentence written in Page 132 of "Longman Preparation Series for New TOEIC Test" (Advanced Course) of Longman. Can anyone help explain the grammatical point of the phrase in bold for me.

"As was mentioned in our earlier announcement, the plane cannot leave the gate unless all passengers are seated and baggage is safely stowed"

I think that the sentence is incorrect because we cannot use was mentioned after conjunction "As". It lacks subject of the verb, so the sentence should be written:

As mentioned in our earlier announcemnet, the plane cannot leave.....

Can anyone please discuss this problem here?
 

TheParser

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***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello,



1. I am a very old man who knows nothing about the TOEIC test. But it does sound very authoritative. So I guess we have to be very careful before saying that such a prestigious test has made a mistake.

2. Would you please study these two sentences:

a. "Epeiros [a country that once occupied part of present-day Greece], as is well known, was anciently occupied ...."

b. "She did her job well, as can be proved by the record.

3. Do you think that those sentences are correct or incorrect?

4. According to the experts responsible for those sentences, they are 100% correct!

5. Let me try to explain.

a. Maybe in formal English, it is not a good idea to write such sentences, but -- nevertheless -- you will often find this kind of construction (kind of sentence) when you read English.

b. In such a sentence, "as" is being used as a relative pronoun. It refers to the idea contained in the whole main sentence.

i. In other words, it means "a fact that."

c. Now let's return to those two sentences:

i. Epeiros, as [a fact that] is well known, was ...."

ii. She did her job well, as [a fact that] can be proved by the record.

iii. As you can see, the relative pronoun "as" is the subject.

6, Now let's return to your sentence. For easier analysis, let me simplify it and change the order:

"The plane cannot leave the gate unless all passengers are seated, as was mentioned in our earlier announcement."

a. In my opinion (only), I believe that it is similar to those two sentences above:

"The plane cannot leave the gate unless all passengers are seated, as [a fact that] was mentioned in our earlier announcement."


James

References:

H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (second edition, 1965), page 38.
Random-House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2001), page 120.
 

philo2009

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It is a kind of relative known as a sentential relative pronoun, whose antecedent (as the Parser has explained) is an entire clause or sentence.

Unlike 'which', however, which also functions as a sentential in English, 'as' may also function cataphorically, i.e. preceding its referent (as it does here).
 

seishirou_sama

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It is a kind of relative known as a sentential relative pronoun, whose antecedent (as the Parser has explained) is an entire clause or sentence.

Unlike 'which', however, which also functions as a sentential in English, 'as' may also function cataphorically, i.e. preceding its referent (as it does here).

Sorry, I tried to look up your words (sentential and cataphorically) in Cambridge dictionary but I did not have any explanation for these. You means that "As" is kind of relative pronoun such as "which"?

However, as far as I'm concerned, relative pronoun must precede its noun and modify the noun (Relative pronouns include "who, whom, which, that, whose, when, where") and I do not think "as" is relative pronoun
 

philo2009

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You means that "As" is kind of relative pronoun such as "which"?
Yes, that is precisely what I mean!

However, as far as I'm concerned, relative pronoun must precede its noun and modify the noun (Relative pronouns include "who, whom, which, that, whose, when, where") and I do not think "as" is relative pronoun.
Those you cite are commonly known relative pronouns. 'As' is less commonly known as one, although it is when it stands as the object of a verb as in your sentence.

Cataphoric reference, for your information, is the fact of referring to a forthcoming linguistic item, as e.g. 'him' referring forward to 'father' in

Although I never knew him, my father seems to have been a good man.

The opposite (referring back to that which has already been mentioned) is termed anaphoric reference.
 

seishirou_sama

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You means that "As" is kind of relative pronoun such as "which"?
Yes, that is precisely what I mean!

However, as far as I'm concerned, relative pronoun must precede its noun and modify the noun (Relative pronouns include "who, whom, which, that, whose, when, where") and I do not think "as" is relative pronoun.
Those you cite are commonly known relative pronouns. 'As' is less commonly known as one, although it is when it stands as the object of a verb as in your sentence.

Cataphoric reference, for your information, is the fact of referring to a forthcoming linguistic item, as e.g. 'him' referring forward to 'father' in

Although I never knew him, my father seems to have been a good man.

The opposite (referring back to that which has already been mentioned) is termed anaphoric reference.

If "as" is relative pronoun in my sentence, so I really do not understand why we are able to rewrite the sentence as follows:

"As mentioned in our earlier announcement, the plane cannot leave the gate unless all passengers are seated and baggage is safely stowed"

The rule of reducing relative clause is you omit the relative pronouns and change the Verb along with relative clause into Ving or past participle in case that relative pronouns play the role as subject in relative clause.

The woman who helps me is Maria.
=> The woman helping me is Maria.

The book which is written by John is very good.
=> The book written by John is very good.

If “As” is relative pronoun as you mentioned. How do we explain the sentence that must be right above? I am very grateful if you might help me explain the point here
 

philo2009

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If "as" is relative pronoun in my sentence, so I really do not understand why we are able to rewrite the sentence as follows:

"As mentioned in our earlier announcement, the plane cannot leave the gate unless all passengers are seated and baggage is safely stowed"

The rule of reducing relative clause is you omit the relative pronouns and change the Verb along with relative clause into Ving or past participle in case that relative pronouns play the role as subject in relative clause.

The woman who helps me is Maria.
=> The woman helping me is Maria.

The book which is written by John is very good.
=> The book written by John is very good.

If “As” is relative pronoun as you mentioned. How do we explain the sentence that must be right above? I am very grateful if you might help me explain the point here

Sentential relatives function differently from general relatives, so that the transformations you cite are not possible.
 
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