Christian Thalmann scripsit:
> I have this weird sentence in my head... could one of you native
> speakers tell me whether it's actual spoken English or just another
> brainfart of mine? ;-)
>
> "I can't seem to do it" meaning "It seems that I can't do it."
>
> So? If it's valid, it sure is one heck of a grammatical stunt.
That's just how we do it in the wackiest language in West Germanic!
And then we can say things like "This bed sleeps two" as well.
--
John Cowan http://www.ccil.org/~cowan <jcowan@...>
"Any legal document draws most of its meaning from context. A telegram
that says 'SELL HUNDRED THOUSAND SHARES IBM SHORT' (only 190 bits in
5-bit Baudot code plus appropriate headers) is as good a legal document
as any, even sans digital signature." --me