They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they are doing

[oceansky753]

Hello Everyone,

The following sentence is taken from Postgratuate Entrance Examination in China, I would like to know if the" even" a conjunction here?

..." They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they are doing."...

Best Regards

Richard

 

[5jj]

No.

I'd go for 'adverb'.

 

[oceansky753]

No.

I'd go for 'adverb'.

Thanks for your reply, but I still couldn't understand the exact meanting and the sentence structure here. I would like to know if the sentence"they understand what they are doing" is the clause of the verb "think" or if it is just a independent sentence led by" even"?

 

[Tarheel]

Thanks for your reply, but I still don't understand the exact meaning and the sentence structure here. I would like to know if the sentence"they understand what they are doing" is the clause of the verb "think" or if it is just a independent sentence led by" even"?

One, are you asking about grammar or meaning?

Two, the whole thing is a sentence. I would say the clause beginning with "beyond" is an adverbial phrase.

 

[oceansky753]

One, are you asking about grammar or meaning?

Two, the whole thing is a sentence. I would say the clause beginning with "beyond" is an adverbial phrase.

Thanks for your time, but I am still confused, and would appreciate more replies.

 

[Tarheel]

1. What are you confused about?
2. I am confident that you will get more replies. However, it would probably be helpful if you specify what you still don't understand.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello, everyone.

The following sentence is taken from a/the Postgraduate Entrance Examination in China. I would like to know if the "even" is a conjunction here.

"... They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they are doing ..."

Best regards Unnecessary

Richard Unnecessary. We refer to each other by our usernames here.

 

[oceansky753]

1. What are you confused about?
2. I am confident that you will get more replies. However, it would probably be helpful if you specify what you still don't understand.

I can't understand the part -- what I think even they understand what they are doing. I feel the part "even they understand what they are doing" doesn't make any sense here. What I mean is that without the part the balance "They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think " is complete, working well, and there is no need to add the part here, I think it is unnecessary and can't find any relationships between them.

 

[Lycidas]

..." They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand what they are doing."...

I can't understand the part -- what I think even they understand what they are doing. I feel the part "even they understand what they are doing" doesn't make any sense here.

The sentence is originally from spoken English (see here); that is, it is a quotation of a sentence that was spoken.

I agree with you that "even they understand what they are doing" does not make sense.

The "what"-clause that functions as the object of "beyond" has another "what"-clause embedded within it.

The first "what"-clause is not interrogative; the second one is, and it makes no sense in the context of the sentence as a whole.

My sense is that the intended meaning is as follows. I have taken out the embedded "what"-clause and replaced "what they are" with the bold words:

They are absolutely altering the food chain beyond what I think even they understand themselves to be doing.

In other words, they are altering the food chain and realize that they are, but they are altering it beyond the extent that even they realize.

 

[Rover_KE]

oceansky753, you posted the same thread here.

Please don't post the same question to different forums simultaneously. Post on one forum only, wait for responses and then, only if you are disappointed with/confused by the responses (or there aren't any), post on another forum and include a link to the first forum thread.

(emsr2d2)

 

[Tarheel]

I think you can simplify the sentence more, thusly:

They are altering the food chain. They are doing it more than they realize.

Note that we started with one long, confusing sentence, and by changing it to two simple sentences we made it into a statement easy to understand.