without there being a guard

[anhnha]

I just saw the sentence below in Ancient Egyptian Literature.

It is he who makes the way safe without there being a guard.
Could you help me parse the part "there being a guard"?
Thank you.

 

[Tarheel]

My best guess is that there is no guard, so you better take care of your own safety.

 

[anhnha]

Thank you. I understand what the sentence means but I'd like to parse the bold part.
without: preposition
there:
being: gerund
a: indefinite article (determiner)
guard: noun

Could you comment and help me parse that?

 

[TheParser]

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


Hello, Anhnha:

As usual, your excellent question has sent me running to my beloved books. Here is what I found:

1. That huge book by Professor Quirk and three colleagues label "there" in your kind of sentence as a so-called introductory adverb.

2. Do you like that term? I do not. And it seems that most books do not, either.

3. Here are some other terms that are used:

a. anticipatory "there"
b. preparatory "there"
c. expletive (filler)

4. Here is an explanation that works for me. It comes from the second edition of A Grammar of Present-Day English (1947 and 1963 copyright) by R.W. Pence and D.W. Emery.

a. "No question of there being any need for assistance has yet arisen." [All emphasis is mine.]

i. "There" is an expletive.
ii. "being" is a participle.
iii. The sentence actually means:

"No question of any need for assistance being (= existing) has yet arisen."


5. IF you accept the professors' reasoning, then maybe your prepositional phrase can be parsed as:

without = preposition.
there = expletive.
being = participle.
a = adjective (determiner).
guard = noun.


That is to say: without a guard being ( existing).



James

 

[anhnha]

Thank you very much, James.

I also like that terms "introductory adverb" and expletive.
However, I have no idea about anticipatory "there" and preparatory "there".
I consulted these words in my dictionaries but they are still confusing.
I really love your versions. I have no problem with them.

No question of any need for assistance being (= existing) has yet arisen.
It is he who makes the way safe without a guard being ( existing)

I prefer these sentences to original ones.
Which ones do you prefer, James?
Thank you!

 

[TheParser]

Hello, Anhnha:

1. I think that "anticipatory there" and "preparatory there" are only terms that some authors have made up. As you know, "to anticipate" means something like "expect": They anticipate huge crowds of teenagers tomorrow when the new shoes go on sale; so the "there" anticipates (expects) the true subject to come along very soon; preparatory "there" prepares us to get ready for the subject.

2. I know that you want me to be courteous but HONEST.

a. So I absolutely would NOT recommend your using those two sentences that you prefer.

i. If you said, "It is he who makes the way safe without a guard being," that would sound very strange to a native speaker.

(a) I would choose either original sentence or possibly "It is he who makes the way safe without a guard being there."
REMEMBER: That "there" is a real adverb. It equals "in that location."

The bottom line: I think that you should stick with the original sentence of "It is he who makes the way safe without there [expletive] being a guard." That's nice English that you want to get used to.

In everyday conversation, I would follow Tarheel's excellent interpretation and say something like:

"He's the one who makes the way safe even though there is no guard."



James

 

[anhnha]

Hello, James.
Thank you for the thorough reply.
The sentence "It is he who makes the way safe without a guard being there" is perfect to me.
However, I am not comfortable with ""It is he who makes the way safe without there being a guard."
Is this an inverstion here?

 

[TheParser]

To the best of my (limited) knowledge, I do not think that this is a case of inversion.

The original is "without there being a guard." If it were a true inversion, then I guess that it would be something like:
"Without being a guard there." As you can see, that is not acceptable.

James


P.S. You say that you are not comfortable with "without there being a guard." I believe that this kind of construction is often used in writing. As you progress in your reading and writing, you may change your mind.

 

[anhnha]

Thank you, James.
I am trying to expand my vocabulary by reading lots of books, newspapers,...
I think my mind will change soon! :-D

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you, James.
I am trying to expand my vocabulary by reading lots of books, newspapers,...
I think my mind will change soon! :-D

That last one is a sentence I never expected to see. ;-)

Perhaps you wanted to say:

I expect to improve quickly and get better fast.
​

What do you think?

 

[anhnha]

Thank you, Tarheel!
You are right. :-D
I meant that I expect to get used to with the pattern soon.

 

[Tarheel]

Just be patient, and it will come to you soon enough. (I am sure that your English is much better than my Vietnamese.)

 

[anhnha]

I am sure that your English is much better than my Vietnamese.

It is not fair for you as Vietnamese is not a popular language.