He was so considerate when she lost the baby .... told her would have been a son.

[JACEK1]

Hello everybody!

He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later, overlooking that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son.

Does the sentence mean "He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later that he overlooked the fact that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son"? (a result sentence: so considerate when she lost the baby a year later that he overlooked the fact

Did the boy die after being born or was he not born at all and why "would have been" structure is used?

Thank you.

 

[emsr2d2]

If a woman "loses a baby" it usually means that she suffered a miscarriage. This, in this piece, is confirmed by the fact that it was "she had failed to give him" and "what ... would have been a son". This child was not born alive. Had the baby been born alive, it would have been a son for the couple.

 

[khanhhung2512]

NOT A TEACHER
Is my following analysis correct?
The nurse reluctantly told her it would have been a son. => what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son = it
=> She had failed to give him it. Here, it means the baby she had miscarried.
By the way, will the original sentence sound better if I replace 'so' by 'very'?

 

[bhaisahab]

NOT A TEACHER

By the way, will the original sentence sound better if I replace 'so' by 'very'?

No.

 

[bhaisahab]

"He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later that he overlooked the fact that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son"
Where did you find this?

 

[emsr2d2]

By the way, will the original sentence sound better if I replace 'so' by 'very'?

No. The sentence uses the construction "so ... that ...".

He was so angry that his face went red.
I was so sad that I cried for three weeks non-stop.
He was so considerate ... that he overlooked the fact ...

 

[khanhhung2512]

No. The sentence uses the construction "so ... that ...".
He was so considerate ... that he overlooked the fact ...

NOT A TEACHER
But it doesn't. The original sentence is: "He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later, overlooking that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son."
I don't think it's a "so ... that ..." construction.

 

[Barb_D]

The sentence assumes that he had a right to be angry that she failed to carry their son to term.
He "overlooks" this failure. That is what makes him considerate.

 

[bf000777966]

so

so what is the nurse actually tell her?

 

[khanhhung2512]

Re: so

So what did the nurse actually tell her?

NOT A TEACHER
From what I understand, after miscarrying the baby, the mother asked the nurse, and the nurse answered, reluctantly, that if the child had been successfully delivered, it would have been a boy.

 

[JACEK1]

Re: so

In my opinion, "He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later, overlooking that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son" means "He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later that he overlooked (the fact) that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son" or "He was so considerate when she lost the baby a year later and (he) overlooked (the fact) that she had failed to give him what the nurse reluctantly told her would have been a son".

The overlooking is the activity that he did and applies to the husband. If "the so ... that" structure didn't apply, why use "so" at all?

What do you think?

I may be wrong.

Thank you.

 

[khanhhung2512]

Re: so

The overlooking is the activity that he did and applies to the husband. If "the so ... that" structure didn't apply, why use "so" at all?

NOT A TEACHER
"So" can be used alone. For instance, "You're so nice," is a complete sentence. I just wonder if replacing "so" by "very" would make the sentence sound more academic.

 

[JACEK1]

Re: so

Please ask more competent people.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Re: so

Both "You're so nice" and "You're very nice" are correct. Nothing about either one strikes me as particularly "academic".