Away was thrown the broken bike

[neb090]

The broken bike was thrown away

Is the inversion structure "Away was thrown the broken bike?"

 

[emsr2d2]

The broken bike was thrown away.

Is the inversion structure "Away was thrown the broken bike"?

Technically, yes, but no native speaker would ever say that.

 

[neb090]

Technically, yes, but no native speaker would ever say that.

So "A huge rock is rolling down from the mountain."

The inversion structure is technically "Rolling down from the mountain is a huge rock."

Is that right?

 

[probus]

The easiest way to learn this @neb090 is to realize that "throw away" is a phrasal verb. We never separate the two parts of a phrasal verb.

 

[5jj]

Actually, we can say "I threw the bike away".

 

[jutfrank]

Right. The phrasal verb 'throw away' is not the inseparable kind, so neb090's sentence is not ungrammatical. But once again, the point here as far as I'm concerned is not whether one can say something but rather when or whether at all one should say something.

The poetic inversion of the sentence, and the fact that it has a lovely iambic tetrameter, inspires a poem:

Away was thrown the broken bike,
Its wheels now still, no longer swift.
Once rode with joy, now lies in plight,
In rust and dust, a solemn drift.

Its handlebars, once held with glee,
Now bent and twisted, cold and stark.
No longer does it roam carefree,
Abandoned in the shadows dark.

(Courtesy of ChatGPT)

 

[neb090]

Right. The phrasal verb 'throw away' is not the inseparable kind, so neb090's sentence is not ungrammatical. But once again, the point here as far as I'm concerned is not whether one can say something but rather when or whether at all one should say something.

The poetic inversion of the sentence, and the fact that it has a lovely iambic tetrameter, inspires a poem:

Away was thrown the broken bike,
Its wheels now still, no longer swift.
Once rode with joy, now lies in plight,
In rust and dust, a solemn drift.

Its handlebars, once held with glee,
Now bent and twisted, cold and stark.
No longer does it roam carefree,
Abandoned in the shadows dark.

(Courtesy of ChatGPT)

So my rolling down sentence is also grammatically correct though native speakers seldom say that way.

Is it correct?

 

[Tarheel]

No. A rock rolls down a mountain. It doesn't roll down FROM a mountain.

 

[emsr2d2]

No. A rock rolls down a mountain. It doesn't roll down FROM a mountain.

Dave: A huge rock appeared in my garden last night.
Helen: What? Where from?
Dave: It must have rolled down from the mountain.

 

[Tarheel]

A huge rock rolled down the mountain and wound up in my garden.

 

[jutfrank]

No. A rock rolls down a mountain. It doesn't roll down FROM a mountain.

It can make sense to say something rolls down 'from' a mountain but I think neb090 means 'rolling down the mountain', yes.

So my rolling down sentence is also grammatically correct though native speakers seldom say that way.

Is it correct?

Rolling down a mountain is a huge rock.

This sentence is grammatical but only good in a certain literary style. It's not something that is likely to be spoken but it could be written in a story book.