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Thread: ... 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world.

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    Почтенный гражданин oldboy's Avatar
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    ... 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world.

    "There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world."

    Here is 'left in the world' the attribute to the 'wireless telegraphs'?
    That is, "There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' that the factory produced and that left in the world."
    Thanks for correcting me.

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    Почтенный гражданин bitpicker's Avatar
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    The subject of the sentence is "Just a few of the wireless telegraphs the factory produced". You can rearrange it like this:

    Just a few of the wireless telegraphs the factory produced are left in the world.
    Спасибо за исправления!

    Вам нравится этот форум, и вы изучаете немецкий язык? Вот похожий форум о немецком языке.

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    Почтенный гражданин oldboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bitpicker View Post
    The subject of the sentence is "Just a few of the wireless telegraphs the factory produced". You can rearrange it like this:

    Just a few of the wireless telegraphs the factory produced are left in the world.
    bitpicker, but then why is "There are" used there?
    Thanks for correcting me.

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    Завсегдатай sperk's Avatar
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    "There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world." = "There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced still in existence."
    Кому - нары, кому - Канары.

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    Почтенный гражданин oldboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sperk View Post
    "There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world." = "There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced still in existence."
    That is, is "There" the subject of the sentence nevertheless (and "are" is the predicate)? I'm a little confused )
    Thanks for correcting me.

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    Завсегдатай sperk's Avatar
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    This is termed an existential sentence:
    existential sentence - definition and examples of existential sentences

    "There" is called a dummy subject (not the real subject.)
    I think you are wondering if "there" has any verbal capacity and the answer is no, it has to be followed by a form of the verb "to be" which is the predicate (plural in this case because the subject "wireless telegraphs" is plural.)
    Кому - нары, кому - Канары.

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    Почтенный гражданин oldboy's Avatar
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    sperk,
    I know the constructions with "there + to be" such as:
    There is the ice on the lake.
    There are some people outside.
    There might be drinks if you wait for a bit.

    etc

    I comprehend the sentence: There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced.
    I comprehend the sentence: Just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world.
    But There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world. remains unintelligible to me (It so happens that there are two predicate: "are" and "left" but that is not possible.
    Thanks for correcting me.

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    Завсегдатай sperk's Avatar
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    I think "left" is actually a present participle and means the same as "remaning".

    There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' that the factory produced remaining in the world.

    BTW
    , this is a very poorly written sentence.
    Кому - нары, кому - Канары.

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    Почтенный гражданин bitpicker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by oldboy View Post
    sperk,
    I know the constructions with "there + to be" such as:
    There is the ice on the lake.
    There are some people outside.
    There might be drinks if you wait for a bit.

    etc
    That is exactly the type of sentence we are talking about. "There are" has the same function in all of them. The first one, though, should have no article before "ice".

    I comprehend the sentence: There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced.
    I comprehend the sentence: Just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world.
    But There are just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world. remains unintelligible to me (It so happens that there are two predicate: "are" and "left" but that is not possible.
    Sperk is almost right, "left" is a past participle here, denoting passive. Consider: "There are only a few biscuits left (over)". Maybe you can see it better when I add "over"; this sentence means that only few biscuits remain. "Left" is not past tense of "leave" as in "Elvis left the building", but its past participle. "Are" is the only predicate here.

    Your sentence:

    Just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world.

    is actually grammatically incorrect, so whatever you seem to understand here is misunderstood. This sentence lacks a conjugated verb, and it is not even possible to see "left" as a conjugated verb here. It would be different if "in" were dropped, then the wireless telegraphs would have packed their things and left the world for someplace else, but that is clearly a nonsensical sentence.
    Спасибо за исправления!

    Вам нравится этот форум, и вы изучаете немецкий язык? Вот похожий форум о немецком языке.

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    Почтенный гражданин oldboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bitpicker View Post
    Sperk is almost right, "left" is a past participle here, denoting passive.
    That's what I needed!

    Quote Originally Posted by bitpicker View Post
    Your sentence:

    Just a few of the 'wireless telegraphs' the factory produced left in the world.
    Yes, I've made a mistake! It would be necessary to write it like you did so above:
    Just a few of the wireless telegraphs the factory produced are left in the world.

    Bitpicker, sperk, thank you so much.
    Thanks for correcting me.

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