site banner
PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2819 thread views

Friday Fun Thread for September 15, 2023

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

3
Top Bottom Old Controversial Comments
Jump in the discussion.

No email address required.

It's being used as a verb in your first example

A participle is a verb and an adjective simultaneously.

It can be, but that's not what it's doing here. Per your article:

  1. Participles are used to form periphrastic verb tenses:

The present participle forms the progressive aspect with the auxiliary verb be:

Jim was sleeping.

Akpu (was) exhorting Babulal -- subject, verb, object.

That's a different construction with a different meaning.

  • "I saw Akpu exhorting Babulal": "exhorting" is unambiguously an adjective(+verb).

  • "I saw [that] Akpu was exhorting Babulal": I'm not a linguist, but I would still call "exhorting" an adjective+verb here (acting alongside the verb "was"), even though it also can be considered part of the "was exhorting" verb construction. But that may be breaking things down too far.

"I saw Akpu exhorting Babulal": "exhorting" is unambiguously an adjective(+verb).

What verb is it modifying?

Adjectives modify nouns. Adverbs modify verbs and adjectives.

Here, "exhorting" modifies "Akpu".

Sorry, that's what I meant -- the point being, how can 'exhorting' modify 'Akpu'? It's not a property of Akpu, it's an action being taken towards him. (ie. a verb)

'I saw Babu run after Akpu' -- you would say that the 'run after' construction is some sort of adjective? It's not -- 'run after Akpu' is a subordinate phrase.

As I said previously, "exhorting" is simultaneously an adjective and a verb. In its capacity as an adjective, it modifies "Akpu"; and, in its capacity as a verb, it takes "Akpu" as a subject.

Again, I am not a linguist, but that's how I model this situation.

Well you are wrong -- it's not even referring to Akpu, it's the action taken by Babu.

Consider 'I saw Babu exhorting the irritated Akpu on the virtues of ChatGPT' -- 'irritated' is an adjective referring to Akpu, whereas in "I saw Babu punch Akpu", 'punch' is clearly a verb. Your original sentence is like the latter, not the former.

You seem to be saying that, if a participle is active, then it must be treated exclusively as a verb, with no trace of adjective nature. I reject that assertion.

More comments

What is this place?

This website is a place for people who want to move past shady thinking and test their ideas in a court of people who don't all share the same biases. Our goal is to optimize for light, not heat; this is a group effort, and all commentators are asked to do their part.

The weekly Culture War threads host the most controversial topics and are the most visible aspect of The Motte. However, many other topics are appropriate here. We encourage people to post anything related to science, politics, or philosophy; if in doubt, post!

Check out The Vault for an archive of old quality posts. You are encouraged to crosspost these elsewhere.


Why are you called The Motte?

A motte is a stone keep on a raised earthwork common in early medieval fortifications. More pertinently, it's an element in a rhetorical move called a "Motte-and-Bailey", originally identified by philosopher Nicholas Shackel. It describes the tendency in discourse for people to move from a controversial but high value claim to a defensible but less exciting one upon any resistance to the former. He likens this to the medieval fortification, where a desirable land (the bailey) is abandoned when in danger for the more easily defended motte. In Shackel's words, "The Motte represents the defensible but undesired propositions to which one retreats when hard pressed."

On The Motte, always attempt to remain inside your defensible territory, even if you are not being pressed.


New post guidelines

If you're posting something that isn't related to the culture war, we encourage you to post a thread for it. A submission statement is highly appreciated, but isn't necessary for text posts or links to largely-text posts such as blogs or news articles; if we're unsure of the value of your post, we might remove it until you add a submission statement. A submission statement is required for non-text sources (videos, podcasts, images).

Culture war posts go in the culture war thread; all links must either include a submission statement or significant commentary. Bare links without those will be removed.

If in doubt, please post it!


Rules


Recommended Posts And Communities

Recommended Realtime Chats