LL-L "Grammar" 2009.02.25 (01) [E]

[Lowlands-L List]

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L O W L A N D S - L - 25 February 2009 - Volume 01
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From: Mark Dreyer <mrdreyer at lantic.net>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2009.02.24 (04) [E]

Dear Heather, Mark & All:



Subject: LL-L "Grammar"



Gary was asking about "try to" and "try and"



Heather, you said: I do love interesting questions that jolt you out of the
complacency you often have about your own mother tongue and make you look
closely at something you normally take for granted.



Mark (Dreyer)



Though not a row of progressive-tense verbs, here is something that has long
tickled my funny-bone, something borrowed into S. African English from the
'Taal' where the phrase 'Ek is besig om te...' serves to indicate 'I am
engaged in...' as it were (the verb construction '-ing to...' doesn't exist
in Afrikaans). Now you do that in English, 'I am busy...cutting this joist'
instead of just 'I am cutting this joist.' It gets funnier; 'I am busy
waiting.' & 'She is busy dawdling.' Of course it makes perfect sense if you
say, 'she is *busily* dawdling'.



Yrs,

Mark


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From: Mike Morgan <mwmosaka at gmail.com>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2009.02.24 (04) [E]

PERHAPS there IS a semantic difference after all:



"I will try to fix something" means you will TRY. And that is all you are
willing to commit yourself to.



"I will try and fix something" means you have a bit MORE confidence in your
ability to actually succeed in getting the damned thing fixed!



U C > || mwm
================
Dr Michael W Morgan
Ishara Foundation || ईशारा फॉउंडेशन  || イシャラ基金
Mumbai/Bombay *|* मुंबई *|* ムンバイ/ボンベイ (インド)
www.ishara.org
+++++++++++++++
"People interested only in the bottom line, seem to have forgotten that the
stars are in the oposite direction" (anon)
-------
Цхьана буйна ши хорбаз тарлур яц.  = Ee kinnae haud twa wattermelon wi ae
niv.

•

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