Thread: to who ... was had been

He knew something intrinsic to who Andy was had been pierced and shattered, leaving a shell in its place.

I just don't understand that -to who A. was had been- thing. Please, explaine.

something intrinsic to who Andy was = something essential to Andy's character, making up the very nature of his character

Thus something which was essential to Andy's character was pierced and shattered by something, and all that was left of it was a shell.

Oh, thanks a lot! The sentence looks very simple now.
It's a pity there is so little commas in English. They really help.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

He knew something intrinsic to who Andy was had been pierced and shattered, leaving a shell in its place.

This sentence is not gramatically correct.
A comma after the word "was" would help.

It is gramatically correct.

The sentence is not worded well.

If you read that sentance in a book with context it'd sound completely normal, though it might sound a little strange popping out of nowhere like this...

I had to read it a few times to figure it out.
I think there should be a comma after "was" to separate the verbs.
"was had been" looks weird.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

I had to read it a few times to figure it out.
I think there should be a comma after "was" to separate the verbs.
"was had been" looks weird.

I don't know either this sentence correct or not, but "was had been"-combination really made me think that this was some twisted grammatical construction I've never heard before. Or 28th tense.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

[...] Or 28th tense.

Actually, the 28th tense is "would has been haved". It has only been used once in the history of the English language. Here. Today.

Originally Posted by kwatts59

I had to read it a few times to figure it out.
I think there should be a comma after "was" to separate the verbs.
"was had been" looks weird.

It may not be worded well, but there's no way you can put a comma after "was." Maybe "He knew something had been pierced and shattered that was extrinsic to who Andy was, leaving a shell in its place."

That's right, you don't separate subject from the predicate with a comma. (unless you've got some parenthetical-type construction.

Subj: something intrinsic to who Andy was

Pred: had been pierced and shattered

And then suddenly he realized that something intrinsic to who Andy was, late that night as the thunder caroomed off the trees resounding through the woods and the lightning bolts rent the sky like a Freddie gone amuck, had been pierced and shattered.

I just realized I have no idea how to spell that word. Reminds me of the time in grade school spelling contest when I was unable to spell "phlegm."