Thread: two phrases

Hello
I was reading a magazine when encountered the two phrases.

The first has an unusual words order, which I frequently met in books.

That is:
No longer were the adventurous limited to the distance the horse could travel in one day, or the direction and speed of the prevailing oceanic winds.

I wonder does it seem a phrase well spoken, or has it a sophisticated manner which couldn't be heard in a usual speeches?

And the second one which attracted my interest:

Why even have a walled garden?

Does the construction why even mean: Зачем вообще/для чего вообще?

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Leof

Hello
I was reading a magazine when encountered the two phrases.

The first has an unusual words order, which I frequently met in books.

That is:
No longer were the adventurous limited to the distance the horse could travel in one day, or the direction and speed of the prevailing oceanic winds.

I wonder does it seem a phrase well spoken, or has it a sophisticated manner which couldn't be heard in a usual speeches?

And the second one which attracted my interest:

Why even have a walled garden?

Does the construction why even mean: Зачем вообще/для чего вообще?

Thank you!

Sorry, I can't help you in Russian

The first sentence is the kind of thing you only see in written English. It has an adverb phrase first (no longer), then the verb, then the subject. This is slightly poetic in English. It is not uncommon in writing, and you might hear it if someone was reading an article out loud, but probably never during a conversation.

You second sentence could also be written "Why have a garden at all?" It is rhetorical. The idea is this: under those conditions (whatever the article said before that) there is no good reason to have a garden.

Example:

A. "I have a very expensive stereo system, but I keep it in a safe so no one will steal it."

B. "Why do you even have a stereo if you can't listen to it?"

(Note that in B's response the word "HAVE" will get very heavy stress.")

or,

A. "I just bought a second dog for my kids to play with. It makes me miserable, though, since I am allergic to dogs."

B. "Why do you even have one dog if you are allergic to them?"

(In B the word "ONE" will get heavy stress.)

вы понимаете?

Thank you paulb! You explained perfectly
- both phrases mean quite what I expected.

Originally Posted by Leof

Thank you paulb! You explained perfectly
- both phrases mean quite what I expected.

Good. Maybe you can explain to me how to say your second sentence in in Russian.

I've been studying Russian off and on for about three years, but I'm still afraid to ask Russian questions on the forum My spelling usually gets me in trouble.

You mean my second sentence where? In my first or second post?
I shall write both them.

Why even have a walled garden?

Зачем вообще (нужен) огороженный сад?
Для чего вообще (нужен) огороженный сад?

both phrases mean quite what I expected
Обе фразы означают именно то, что я ожидал.

You needn't to be afraid of asking or writing in Russian at all!
Nobody cares of the errors - it is not the thing which is hard to fix. The more you write in Russian the sooner you feel free to write in it.

I bet my text has dozens of errors, nonetheless I write in it shamelessly!

Leof the shameless!

Who said this! You who ever write in English! Shame on you too!

Shame on me, shame on me... I'll never write anything again.