Re: OT: THEORY Fusion Grammar

Gary Shannon wrote:
> --- René Uittenbogaard <ruittenb@...> wrote:
> > Even more can go inside the "er .. mee" construct:
> >
> > Steek er  de niet-brandende fakkel  vandaag nog
> > met beide handen
> > Light it [the non-burning   torch] [today still]
> > [with both  hands]
> >
> > binnenshuis mee aan  om        de deur te openen.
> > indoors    with up  [in-order the door to open].
> >
>
> I really having trouble understanding the function of
> "er...mee" in this sentence. What, exactly, is the
> "er...mee" telling us? It's not what the torch was lit
> "with", so what is it?
I been wondering about this too. Is there more context? Has the speaker
previously mentioned some device, and you are supposed to light the torch
_with it_ (er...mee)??

>
> From the gloss it looks like the whole sentence could
> do quite nicely without it:
> perhaps "er...mee" is some
> grammatical convention that is actually empty of
> content, and could be simply dropped by the parse as
> being merely "decorative"?? (Not proposing that this
> is true, but just asking.)
Hmm, perhaps er...mee is to be interpreted as sort-of "thereupon, then, at
that point...", just as "With that,..." is sometimes used as a transition in
Engl., not implying any instrument, although properly it should refer to
some previous act or situation.

Deathless prose examples:

"You're a total idiot," she said. With that, she stomped out of the room.
(from my memoir, "Life with Mother")

I really want that, he thought. With that, he clicked the "buy now" button.
(from forthcoming "1001 Nights on E-Bay")

(It is often mis-used, I know. I recall hearing a 10-yr old breathlessly
recount some event-- he began every sentence with "With that..."-- it struck
me he'd probably just learned the phrase and thought it classy.)

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