languages

Not so! The subject is compound, i.eVERBS and NOUNS (the conjuction AND makes it compound) the verb is WERE, and MORE is a predicate nominative, i.e. a substantive (any word functioning as a NOUN) with a role of modifying the subject. The preposition OF points to ABSTRACTION which modifies the predicate nominative. The past participle NEEDED modifies the term ABSTRACTION in its role as a modifier of MORE, which modifies the subjects. THAN compounds the modification by the preposition by providing a second object of the preposition OF, which further modifies the term ABSTRACTION by limiting it. Now, that's more detail than one normally needs to understand the lines in the daily paper's comics, but there are sentences, more likely to appear on the editorial page than in the sports section, which often deserve and too often require careful analysis prior to concluding one knows what's being said. You may disagree with that analysis, but it certainly does underscore that the quoted sentence is complete. It also serves as an example of the numerous devices about which current high-school graduates know nothing. Dick -----Original Message----- From: Eric Smith <eric(a)brouhaha.com> To: classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org <classiccmp(a)classiccmp.org> Date: Thursday, March 09, 2000 12:14 PM Subject: Re: languages