[Grammar] Is it possible to have two verbs in a clause?

[Tarheel]

No, it doesn't sound natural. Also, Ems already said it's not grammatical (if I remember right). Didn't you like my sentence?

 

[Heidi L]

Which is the more important question for you?

Does it make sense?

Or:

Is is correct English (grammatical)?

Good question.

I can understand GoesStation's example: She discovered a photographic talent that she hadn't realized she had was inside her

 

[Tarheel]

Good question.

I [STRIKE]can[/STRIKE] understand GoesStation's example: She discovered a photographic talent that she hadn't realized she had was inside her

I like mine better.

 

[Heidi L]

If you leave out "was there" in that construction, it's grammatically incorrect.

Ok. Then I have to ask, in the defining relative clause "that she never realized", is it clear in meaning? What exactly didn't she realize?

 

[Tarheel]

She didn't realize that she had a photographic talent.
:roll:

 

[Heidi L]

Perhaps:

She discovered a photographic talent inside her that she had never known was there.

Same question for you: what exactly hadn't she known about? The existence of that talent? If it is the case, without expressing it clearly, will the whole sentence make sence or will listeners easilly understand them?

 

[Tarheel]

Same question for you: what exactly hadn't she known about? The existence of that talent? If it is the case, without expressing it clearly, will the whole sentence make sense or will listeners easilly understand it?

She hadn't known about her photographic talent (a talent for producing interesting photographs).
:roll:

I think most people would easily understand my sentence, yes.

 

[GoesStation]

I can understand GoesStation's example: She discovered a photographic talent that she hadn't realized she had was inside her

That's really not a well-written sentence. Even though I wrote it myself, I had to read it a couple of times to understand it. I think I offered a better one in the same post.

 

[jutfrank]

This thread has become very long since I last read it. It's not easy to address your concerns.

I really think it's unclear in meaning and the two words inside her are redundant/unnecessary.

No, that's not true.

If you decompose it into two parts, it's equivalent to saying that

She discovered a photographic talent inside her was there, and
She never realized (the existence of that talent?).

Not quite but you're not far off. I'd put it like this:

She discovered a photographic talent inside her.
She had never realised this photographic talent was inside her.

How about leaving out the last two words "was there"?

She discovered a photographic talent inside her that she never realized.

Will it be better or worse?

Better or worse? That's not the right question. You cannot leave out was there and still keep the same meaning.

How about
She discovered a photographic talent inside her that she had never known it was there?

Does it sound natural to your ears?

No, that's completely ungrammatical. You cannot add another subject! It's fine if you remove it. I told you in my previous post what the subject of was is.

Ok. Then I have to ask, in the defining relative clause "that she never realized", is it clear in meaning? What exactly didn't she realize?

You're apparently failing to recognise the complement of the verb realize. Look:

She didn't realize that the photographic talent inside her was there.

You can see that the blue 'that'-clause is the complement of the verb realize.

 

[Heidi L]

Thank you for all your help, guys. I have to admit that there are much more things I still need to learn.

 

[Tarheel]

Thank you for all your help, guys. I have to admit that there are many more things I still need to learn.

Or:

There is much more that I still need to learn.
:-D

 

[emsr2d2]

Thank you for all your help. [STRIKE]guys.[/STRIKE] I'm sure you'd like to thank the female members too.

I have to admit that there are [STRIKE]much[/STRIKE] many more things I still need to learn.

Note my corrections and comments above.

Use "many" with countable nouns.

 

[Heidi L]

Thanks again.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks again.

[STRIKE][/STRIKE]

Please don't try to make your own emoticons. If you really must use one, click on the icon in the toolbar and choose one. Please note that there is no need to write a new post to say "Thanks" to anyone. Simply click on the "Thank" button on any post you find helpful. It saves time for everyone.