phrases?

[Matthew Wai]

"you learners,"

I think it is similar to 'you, learners,', where 'learners' is an appositive.

I don't use the reply-with-quote function. I start at the bottom and quote as I please.

As you don't use the reply-with-quote function, readers do not know whom you have quoted and where the post is. It could be confusing.

 

[Phaedrus]

I think it is similar to 'you, learners,', where 'learners' is an appositive.

Are you sure you want to analyze it as a mispunctuated nonrestrictive-appositive construction?

 

[Matthew Wai]

I thought of a restrictive construction: you (who are) learners, where 'you' is the antecedent.

 

[Phaedrus]

I thought of a restrictive construction: you (who are) learners, where 'you' is the antecedent.

I think that would work for phrases like "We the People of the United States", with which the U.S. Constitution opens. Notice that, in that phrase, "the" (a determiner) comes after the pronoun.

"You learners" can be expanded in ways like this: "you three learners." If we added "three" to the other example, it would become nonrestrictive. "We, the three people of the United States".

I think you understand "you learners" as meaning "those of you who are learners," whereas that is not the meaning of the phrase, and other phrases like it, at least as I understand them.

Interesting topic! It's not exactly Soseki's topic, though.