Re: Re: ADJ (of) a -- where's the plural?

[Steve Boatti]

In a message dated 4/17/04 4:55:03 PM, bjb5 at U.WASHINGTON.EDU writes:


> To me, there is no version without the "of". "He's too good a shooter"
> comes from "good of a" where the "of" is reduced to a schwa and
> phonetically combines with the article.
>

I don't accept this. "He's too good a shooter" is perfectly grammatical and
logical, meaning sinply "He's a shooter who is too good." The "of" adds
nothing, and in my view could not be the original version of this phrase.



Steve Boatti
sjb72 at columbia.edu