Hi,
Is the sentence below correct? Even the phrase "I guess" is just separated by a comma? If so, how do we call this pattern?
Well, there's a first time for everything, I guess.
Many thanks.
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Hello, Ferdie.
(1) Oh, yes, that sentence is perfect.
(2) We often speak like that.
(3) Some books call "I guess" a comment clause. That is, the speaker
is commenting on "There's a first time for everything." (Some books just call "I guess" a sentence adverb.)
(a) A very famous grammar book gives some more:
There's a first time for everything, _____.
I guess
I believe
I think
I feel
I suppose
I'm told
I have heard
They say
They tell me
(b) This same book (A COMPREHENSIVE GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE) says that we can change a sentence such as:
(a) There's a first time for everything, I guess.
TO
(b) I guess that there's a first time for everything.
Sometimes there is a difference between (a) and (b), but I do NOT
know whether there is a difference between your (a) and (b) sentences.
Maybe they are the same. Hopefully, a smarter answerer can explain it to
you and me.
Here is an example from that book that shows you a difference:
(a) It belongs to me, you know. = I want you to know that fact.
(b) You know that it belongs to me. = You already know that fact.
***** Thank you for asking the question *****
