tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post8555112085155301952..comments2024-03-06T07:06:38.928-08:00Comments on JSBlog - Journal of a Southern Bookreader: Much to learnRay Girvanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-7246873171484938902011-11-21T05:46:46.698-08:002011-11-21T05:46:46.698-08:00RG> But "much has been written"
RG>...RG> But "much has been written"<br />RG> is perfectly normal in<br />RG> formal/academic style...<br /><br />Oh yes, I agree ... I didn't mean I was wrong; only that I was prompted to realise that I <i>was</i> being formal - pompously so in the context - and was thus given the chance to lighten up my style ... for which, thanks :-)Felixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13179787011325615414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-72965312231846922202011-11-21T05:17:20.784-08:002011-11-21T05:17:20.784-08:00But "much has been written" is perfectly...But "much has been written" is perfectly normal in formal/academic style (see <a href="http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=%22much+has+been+written%22&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hl=en&sa=N&tab=ws" rel="nofollow">Google Scholar</a>). It's the placing of "much" after the verb that seems uncommon.Ray Girvanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05556764642402680159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-35628309776287404662011-11-21T04:00:01.547-08:002011-11-21T04:00:01.547-08:00Just re-read my comment above and discovered the Y...Just re-read my comment above and discovered the Yoda-like "Hong Kong born the proprietor"!<br /><br />:-)<br /><br />Should have been "the Hong Kong proprietor" ... but a comma would also retieve it: "Hong Kong born, the proprietor of my..."<br /><br />And onward... this morning I found myself writing "Much has been written..." so changed it to "a lot" :-)Felixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13179787011325615414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8937414969460147900.post-26743882120693904872011-11-20T02:22:59.548-08:002011-11-20T02:22:59.548-08:00I've never thought consciously about this ... ...I've never thought consciously about this ... now that you've prompted me to do so, I realise that I use "much" after a verb myself (“I have traveled much in Concord”) in a way that must sound strange. Probably a childhood influence hangover, I suppose – I'll have to poke around in the linguistic attic and try to track down the source.<br /><br />On another tack ... Hong Kong born the proprietor of my local Chinese takeaway often says “Thank you much”. It sounds odd, but is used in a way which clearly shows it to be a logical construct designed to strike a balance between the routineness of "thank you" and the sometimes excessive emphasis of “thank you very much”.Felixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13179787011325615414noreply@blogger.com