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Tarsier
Why is there an “a” before medium in the following sentence?
Still, it seems unlikely that a miracle is being worked on so evanescent a medium.
Thanks
٢ نوفمبر ٢٠٢٤ ١٤:٢١
الإجابات · 7
1
I guess that 'medium' refers to the material on which a work of art has been made. 'A miracle is being worked' plays on the dual meaning of 'work' in this context: the working out of a miracle, and the creation of a work of art. Paper, card, wood, fabric, etc are examples of media in the production of artwork. Each of these is a 'medium' [a countable noun]. The particular medium referred to is one that may quickly dissipate, making it unlikely that the artwork will endure - that would be a miracle.
All the above is guesswork on my part, and the reference may be quite different, but the logic of the expression would still apply.
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"so evanescent a medium" = "such an evanescent medium"
"so delicious a dinner" = "such a delicious dinner"
"so difficult a language" = "such a difficult language"
... and so forth.
The difference between using "so" and "such" is that "so" is an adverb while "such" is a pronoun. Since "so" is an adverb, it is able to directly modify the adjective ("evanescent") whereas "such" can only do that indirectly.
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The standard construction is:
It seems unlikely that a miracle is being worked on a medium which is so evanescent.
There are multiple media. ‘A medium’ tells you it is one of those. ‘So’ tells you that it has a high degree of evanescence.
٣ نوفمبر ٢٠٢٤
As you may have noticed, 'medium' has several different definitions. It would be easier to answer this question if you provided more context.
٣ نوفمبر ٢٠٢٤
In that sentence, the "a" before "medium" is used to indicate that "medium" is being described in a particular way. The phrase "so evanescent a medium" is a stylistic choice, often seen in more formal or literary English. It emphasizes the quality of the medium by placing the adjective ("evanescent") before the article ("a").
This construction is a bit unusual in modern usage, but it adds a rhythmic and poetic feel to the sentence. Essentially, it could be rephrased as "a medium that is so evanescent."
٢ نوفمبر ٢٠٢٤
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Tarsier
المهارات اللغوية
الصينية (المندرية), الإنجليزية, الفرنسية
لغة التعلّم
الصينية (المندرية), الإنجليزية, الفرنسية
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