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Re: 'together vs. to gather'

From:Costentin Cornomorus <elemtilas@...>
Date:Saturday, January 17, 2004, 17:39
--- Andreas Johansson <andjo@...> speirit:

> > The act of gathering or dispersing can > > take place without ever having gathered or > > dispersed anything. > > Explain that again?
In response specifically to "But how can we conceive verbs like "to gather" or "to disperse" without the notion of plural?" I said the above. What I mean is that the notion of "number" has nothing to do with the verb, because I can engage in "gathering" without ever actually obtaining anything. In other words, the word "gather" refers to the action of collecting, not to the objects collected (or their number) or the subject collecting.
> English grammar being what > it is, number will rear its > sibilant head as soon as count nouns are > involved,
Sure. If I am gathering $4 coins, then here we are talking about count nouns - discrete objects. Their number has no bearing on the verb, though.
> and intr "to gather" > and "to disperse" can certainly take count > nouns as subjects.
Sure. In general, it is a person that gathers and disperses things. [Though as noted, even mass things can gather or disperse of their own.]
> (Are there any > English verbs that can't take both count and > mass nouns as subjects?)
Rain? Snow? While I guess you could (nonsensically) say "the dog rained", the subject of these weather verbs is never stated. I guess it's neither mass nor count, cos we never say what "it" actually is. Not quite what you're after...
> > > transcended. "Dust gathered in the unused > > > rooms" or whatever. > > > > Also with change of voice, there. [Like "soup > > cooks".] > > Change of voice with regard to what?
From active to middle. Dust gathers itself, in other words. Padraic. ===== â-dim peresatî Zarathustrô: ko-nare ahî? yim azem vîshpahe a&#331;hêuš astvatô sraêštem dâdaresa. â-dim prcchat Jarathustrah: ko nara asi? yam aham vî&#347;vasya âsoh asthivatah &#347;restham dadar&#347;a. ççoç peparcti Çaratostariyyas: his hanaras ossta? icom acâ, alohostanoççexomes, takam maxamâsanar a-hawisesâ. -- Yasna ix -- Ill Bethisad -- <http://www.geocities.com/elemtilas/ill_bethisad> Come visit The World! -- <http://www.geocities.com/hawessos/> .

Replies

Philippe Caquant <herodote92@...>
Roger Mills <romilly@...>
Muke Tever <hotblack@...>
Andreas Johansson <andjo@...>
John Cowan <cowan@...>