The kitten was nowhere to be found.

[diamondcutter]

The kitten was nowhere to be found.

Is the deep logic of this sentence like this?

The kitten was to be found nowhere.

 

[Tarheel]

They didn't know where it was. They had, apparently, looked for it, but they couldn't find it. They had looked everywhere, but they could find it nowhere. Thus it was nowhere to be found. (They couldn't find it.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

In a word: yes. (I don't know that there's any deep logic there.)

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, Tarheel and GoesStation.

Can the original sentence be reworded as follows?

1. The kitten was found nowhere.

2. The kitten could be found nowhere.

 

[Tarheel]

The kitten couldn't be found anywhere.

 

[teechar]

Thanks, Tarheel and GoesStation.

I think you meant Charlie Bernstein instead.

Can the original sentence be reworded as follows?
1. The kitten was found nowhere.
2. The kitten could be found nowhere.

The second is possible, but the first doesn't work well in this kind of context. You might encounter such phrasing in, for example, scientific research.

Despite extensive surveys, that unusual aphid was/could be found nowhere else on the island.

 

[Tdol]

The kitten was nowhere to be found.

Is the deep logic of this sentence like this?

The kitten was to be found nowhere.

It's more like it couldn't be found anywhere to me.

 

[emsr2d2]

What is "deep logic"?

 

[diamondcutter]

What is "deep logic"?

I meant its real meaning, for the pattern is unusual, especially to non-native speakers.:-D

 

[GoesStation]

I meant its real meaning, for the pattern is unusual, especially to non-native speakers.:-D

Tdol told you the expression's meaning in post #7.

 

[Tdol]

I meant its real meaning, for the pattern is unusual, especially to non-native speakers.:-D

The pattern may seem unusual, but it is common enough.

 

[Phaedrus]

The kitten was nowhere to be found.

Is the deep logic of this sentence like this?

The kitten was to be found nowhere.

In addition to moving the adverb "nowhere" to a non-fronted position, you could un-passivize the sentence for even "deeper logic":

The kitten was nowhere to be found.
--> The kitten was nowhere to be found (by the people who looked for the kitten).
--> The kitten was to be found nowhere (by the people who looked for the kitten).
--> The people who looked for the kitten were to find it nowhere.
--> The people who looked for the kitten were not to find it anywhere.

 

[SoothingDave]

Consider "not found anywhere" and "found nowhere" to be the same meaning. "Not anywhere" combines into "nowhere."

This can happen with words like "not any"/"none" as well.