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June 2013

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Subject:
From:
Odile Sullivan-Tarazi <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Wed, 26 Jun 2013 09:11:40 -0700
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In a sentence such as "you will learn how to <do something>" or "you will learn what to <do with something>," how would you construe and diagram those cores? (I mean, in terms of Reed-Kellogg diagrams.)

Would the infinitive phrases be up on stilts in the direct object position? With "how" in the adverbial slot, "what" in the direct object slot, within the portion on stilts? Or have I got this wrong? Would some other pictorial representation (within this system of diagramming) better reflect the relationships here?

When I think of the phrase "how to <do something>," for whatever reason, I have a hard time thinking of the "how" as an adverb, particularly when the phrase stands on its own. The same goes for the similar construction that begins with "what," again when on its own. In these cases, the "how" and the "what" seem to me in some way to govern the infinitive phrase that follows. 

I'm thinking of standalone phrases such as —

     How to survive the big one
     How to create a restricted list on Facebook
     What to do in San Francisco
     What to make of a climate-change plateau


Would you say there's something different about these phrases when they're on their own? Or am I being woefully misled by Wrong Thinking?


Thanks!

Odile

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