SEE IF/WHETHER as embedded Q (Zwicky's suggestion)

[storkrn]

Strictly an amateur observation, Larry, but yes, I hear "She try and ..."
all the time from inner city African Americans in Los Angeles area. Of
course, here it is hard to separate the Hispanic constructions from the
ebonic, etc as they are so intertwined, so this is nothing but an
observation.

Sharyn Hay

----- Original Message -----
From: "Laurence Horn" <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2000 9:16 AM
Subject: Re: SEE IF/WHETHER as embedded Q (Zwicky's suggestion)


> At 11:08 AM -0400 7/25/00, RonButters at AOL.COM wrote:
> >In a message dated 7/25/00 12:45:31 AM, rtroike at U.ARIZONA.EDU writes:
> >
> ><< Also, in varieties that can invert auxiliaries in embedded questions,
my
> >sense is that this is possible (though not being a native speaker I can't
> >be sure):
> >
> >        He asked me to see IF I couldn't pry the lid off.
> >
> >        He asked me to see COULDN'T I pry the lid off.
> > >>
> >
> >I think that this would have to be "He asked me to see COULD I pry the
lid
> >off" (no negative); "*He asked me to see COULDN'T I pry the lid off." I'm
not
> >a native speaker, but I have been recording these constructions for 30
years
> >here in North Carolina.
>
> This brings up a related question I had, connected to another of Arnold's
> postings.  I wholeheartedly endorse his characterization of the
> distribution of "try and" from a few days ago, i.e. that the first verb
> must appear in the base (non-inflected) form and the second IS the base
> form (as in this example from a novel I'm reading:  "Most of them
> [classmates] try and be nice to you [someone who limps from polio]; some
of
> them make fun of you").  What I was wondering is whether speakers from
> dialects in which there is zero-agreement for third person singular (at
> least some of the time) can say things like
>
> She try and be quiet.
> He try and finish his work.
>
> Anyone know?
>
> larry
>