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

[storkrn]

Actually, what I usually hear is "She try'n be squiet" and "She try'n bes
good" referring mostly to children's behavior.

storknurse
----- Original Message -----
From: <RonButters at AOL.COM>
To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2000 7:51 AM
Subject: Re: SEE IF/WHETHER as embedded Q (Zwicky's suggestion)


> Larry Horn wonders can "speakers from dialects in which there is
> zero-agreement for third person singular (at least some of the time) ...
say
> things like"
>
> She try and be quiet.
> He try and finish his work
>
> In a message dated 7/25/2000 2:12:41 PM, storkrn at EMAIL.MSN.COM writes:
>
> << Strictly an amateur observation, Larry, but yes, I hear "She try and
..."
> >>
>
> I suspect that what <storkrn> is actually hearing is
>
> She tryin' uh be quiet 'She is trying to be quiet' (etc.)
>
> "*She try and be quiet" strikes me as just as ungrammatical as "She tries
and
> be quiet"--though I have never tested this with any dialect speakers, it
is
> based only on my observation of Noeth Carolina speech. We need to hear
from a
> native speaker, huh?
>