Re: Ellipsis (was: Re: Italian Particles)

Raymond Brown wrote:
> "Sorry - must dash now!   Got to pick the kids up from school."
> "Can't tell you, I'm afraid.  Promised the wife to keep it secret". [Not
> all subjects are dropped   :)   ]
Well, the first quote sounds perfectly natural to me, dropping the
subject gives a "hurried" sound to it.  And so does the second example.
Now that I think about it, I do sometimes hear subjects dropped, and
occasionally do it myself [hey, there's one right there!].  "Be",
however, NEVER allows subjects to be dropped, not even when the subject
is elsewhere.  "I once was lost, but now am found", from Amazing Grace,
has always sounded odd to me, and I (and, AFAICT, everyone I've ever
heard) usually say "... now I'm found"

> The 2nd person may be omitted in questions, e.g.
> "Want to hear the latest?"
That's quite common over hear, too.  Almost obligatory it sometimes
seems.  :-)

> "What did you say your husband does?" "Teaches in local college."
That sounds a bit odd to my ears

> "Good holiday?"  "Nah - complete washout! Rained every day."
For some reason, that doesn't, however.  I think that dropping
third-person pronouns gives an "irritated" feel to me.

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