Re: Sketch of Germanech 4/4: Syntax

On Thu, 6 Dec 2001, laokou wrote:

> From: "Tristan Alexander McLeay"
>
> > laokou wrote:
>
> > > So do they.
>
> > And the alternatives (except for `So they do') don't sound so much wrong
> > as completely and utterly ungrammatical, like saying `On Wedensday went I
> > to the beach'.
>
> I agree, but while, save a shift in emphasis, "Never have I seen..." and "I
> have never seen..." (*"Never I have seen..." is wrong in my idiolect) mean
> the same thing, "So do they." and "So they do." mean different things. "So
> do they." means "They do, too." ("They do, also.") whereas "So they do."
> means "Indeed they do." "They do so" can equal "They do, too" in that kiddy,
> nyah-nyah sense ("Do not!" "Do so!")
Oh yeah, bunch of good points that elluded me at the time of posting.

Tristan

anstouh@yahoo.com.au

War doesn't prove who's right, just who's left.
                       - BSD Games' Fortune