[Grammar] AS-modifier

[cheesee]

I am exploring"as"-modifier. In this question, I am using the as-modifier of a noun phrase near the beginning of a sentence. I have two as-clause sentences here:

1. "The law as it currently exists does not affect this school."
2. "The law as it applies to education curriculums does not affect this school."

In the first sentence, "as it currently exists" translates loosely to "in its current form". So, the first sentence loosely means:

"The law in its current form does not affect this school."

For the second sentence, I don't know what "as it applies to education curriculums" translate to.

 

[bhaisahab]

"in the way that it applies..."

 

[cheesee]

Would "The law in its way of applying to education curriculums does not affect this school" be just as good?

 

[bhaisahab]

No. The original is far better.

 

[cheesee]

Your original answer was "in the way that it applies...". Does that "in" mean something similar to "in the activity of"?

 

[bhaisahab]

Your original answer was "in the way that it applies...". Does that "in" mean something similar to "in the activity of"?

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/in_10

 

[cheesee]

So, "in the way that it applies..." would loosely mean "in response to the way that it applies..."?

 

[TheParser]

I am using the as-modifier of a noun phrase near the beginning of a sentence.

1. "The law as it currently exists does not affect this school."

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


Hello, Cheesee:

I was thinking all night about your statement that the "as" clause modifies "the law." You are certainly right: it does SEEM to modify / qualify "the law."

I may be (easily!) mistaken, but I think that most books would classify "As it currently exists" as an adverbial clause (which would mean that it cannot modify the noun phrase "the law").

One reason for that interpretation, I believe, is its mobility:

1. As it [the law] currently exists, the law does not affect this school.
2. The law, as it currently exists, does not affect this school. [Notice the commas]
3. The law does not affect this school, as it currently exists.



James

 

[MikeNewYork]

I would call the clause adjectival because it modifies "law". I think the reason that the clause is mobile is because of the pronoun "it". The pronoun stands in for "law" so moving it around creates no confusion. That said, I am not fond of sentence 3. Even with the comma, a reader might connect the clause to "school".

 

[cheesee]

@MikeNewYork Bhaisahab proposed this sentence:

"The law in the way it applies to education curriculums does not affect this school."

Does that "in" mean something along the lines of "in the activity of" or "be involved in" , like "in a game" or "in a party", or "in that week"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

He did not propose that sentence; he was translating the original to help you understand it. He said the original was better.

It is not always easy to define prepositions. In this case "in" means "with reference to".

 

[cheesee]

@MikeNewYork So, that "in" should not be confused with the "in" in "He talked in a strange way?

 

[MikeNewYork]

No, it should not. Please check the following dictionary link to get many uses of "in".

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/in

 

[cheesee]

@MikeNewYork So, I could write this: "John in courage is superior to his friends"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

You could write: John, in courage, is superior to his friends. But that is not the most normal way to express that thought. Better would be: John is more courageous than his friends.

 

[cheesee]

@MikeNewYork Then, the original sentence 2:

"The law as it applies to education curriculums does not affect this school."

should have been "translated" as:

"The law does not affect this school in the way it (the law) applies to education curriculums."

?

 

[MikeNewYork]

The original needed no translation. It was fine the way it was.

 

[cheesee]

@MikeNewYork Would the "in" discussed in this thread be the same as the "in" in "He showed courage in the way he handled the situation"?

 

[MikeNewYork]

I'm sorry, but you have lost me. To which use of "in" are you comparing the new use?

 

[bhaisahab]

I am closing this thread. It is going nowhere.