خَيْزُران
Is that correct grammar? But my good master Bates dying in two years after, and I having few friends... From GULLIVER'S TRAVELS Hi friendsdo you think it's correct? I've learnt that we shoud write "be" before A verb. But in this sentence, it says "dying" and "having" without the "be". (But my good master was* dying... I was* having...)So I'm mixed up. Could you give me a hand?
Feb 18, 2017 8:32 AM
Answers · 6
2
Hello Ann! This is correct English, but because of the age it sounds very extravagant to a modern speaker. The sentence continues, "...my business began to fail." This structure, where the first parts of the sentence use only the gerund (-ing) verb without 'to be,' is correct if the next part of the sentence follows normal conjugation rules. For example: "My clothes dripping from rain and my car sitting beside the road, I was a sad sight." "Seeing none of my friends, and recognizing none of the landmarks around me, I start to think I am completely lost." This structure is pretty old! You probably won't use it personally, but if you are reading classics you will encounter it frequently, so it's good to know. Tell me if you have any questions! Regards, Lee
February 18, 2017
2
It is archaic English Ann. I would suggest that you do not learn from this book if you are trying to learn grammar or increase your vocabulary.
February 18, 2017
1
Hello again Ann. You're correct, be/was/is should come before a verb, but keep in mind that Gulliver's Travels was written 300 years ago and the English language has changed quite a bit since then.
February 18, 2017
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