Nagi
"Reel Around the Fountain" A Question about a lyrics of The Smiths It's time the tale were told Of how you took a child And you made him old Q1. I can't understand the reason why past sentence should be used. "the tale is told" doesn't make sense? Or sounds odd? Q2. I can't see what role does this "Of" playing. What Difference there should be if without this "of"? I want to know grammatically.
Oct 22, 2018 2:05 AM
Answers · 2
After "It's time" it is traditional to use a verb in the past tense form. This is sometimes called the subjunctive. It is called an idiomatic expression by other linguists. Examples: It's time you were in bed. It's time you went to bed. It's time we told your mother. It's time your father was told. A tale/story OF something. The -of- is similar to -about-. This is the story of John Bunyan. This is the story about John Bunyan. 'This is the story of how you took a child and made him old' is similar to 'This is the story about how you took a child and made him old'. English uses 'of' in many different ways.
October 22, 2018
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