Confusion on use of だった with sentence that uses nominalized verb
I'm reading a book and have come across this sentence
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
I know this sentence translates to something like
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
But what I truly don't understand is what does the だった at the end modify?
Is it modifying アニーが指さしている (Annie pointing) like I believe?
Or is it really modifying 一本のなわばしご (rope ladder)? And the translated sentence is more like
Annie pointed to what was a long rope ladder
grammar copula past cleft-sentences
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
add a comment |
I'm reading a book and have come across this sentence
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
I know this sentence translates to something like
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
But what I truly don't understand is what does the だった at the end modify?
Is it modifying アニーが指さしている (Annie pointing) like I believe?
Or is it really modifying 一本のなわばしご (rope ladder)? And the translated sentence is more like
Annie pointed to what was a long rope ladder
grammar copula past cleft-sentences
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
1
I'm not sure if you're really interested in the technical terms, but the question as phrased doesn't quite make sense. It doesn't modify anything, it's predicating. Predicates and modifiers are two different things.
– snailboat♦
5 hours ago
'The thing Annie was pointing at' or 'What Annie was pointing at' seems more in line with the original text. Where are you seeing the word 'long'?
– user27280
4 hours ago
@user27280 I thought this was implied by 一本 (one long cylindrical thing). Maybe this is wrong of me. You are right, there is no word that directly means long in this sentence
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@snailboat I'm all for technical if it can help me understand. Not sure if this is right, but assuming a predicate is defined as "the part that tells us what the subject does or is". Does this mean だった is predicating Annie and my first assumption was correct?
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
Expanding on @naruto's answer below: The tense of the final verb (or copula in this case) sets the tone (tense) for the entire sentence, thereby changing 'Annie is pointing' to 'Annie was pointing'. So, while there is an influence, it is not in the category of modification.
– user27280
2 hours ago
add a comment |
I'm reading a book and have come across this sentence
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
I know this sentence translates to something like
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
But what I truly don't understand is what does the だった at the end modify?
Is it modifying アニーが指さしている (Annie pointing) like I believe?
Or is it really modifying 一本のなわばしご (rope ladder)? And the translated sentence is more like
Annie pointed to what was a long rope ladder
grammar copula past cleft-sentences
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
I'm reading a book and have come across this sentence
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
I know this sentence translates to something like
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
But what I truly don't understand is what does the だった at the end modify?
Is it modifying アニーが指さしている (Annie pointing) like I believe?
Or is it really modifying 一本のなわばしご (rope ladder)? And the translated sentence is more like
Annie pointed to what was a long rope ladder
grammar copula past cleft-sentences
grammar copula past cleft-sentences
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
edited 3 hours ago
Chocolate♦
47.2k457120
47.2k457120
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
asked 5 hours ago
TylersansanTylersansan
3408
3408
1
I'm not sure if you're really interested in the technical terms, but the question as phrased doesn't quite make sense. It doesn't modify anything, it's predicating. Predicates and modifiers are two different things.
– snailboat♦
5 hours ago
'The thing Annie was pointing at' or 'What Annie was pointing at' seems more in line with the original text. Where are you seeing the word 'long'?
– user27280
4 hours ago
@user27280 I thought this was implied by 一本 (one long cylindrical thing). Maybe this is wrong of me. You are right, there is no word that directly means long in this sentence
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@snailboat I'm all for technical if it can help me understand. Not sure if this is right, but assuming a predicate is defined as "the part that tells us what the subject does or is". Does this mean だった is predicating Annie and my first assumption was correct?
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
Expanding on @naruto's answer below: The tense of the final verb (or copula in this case) sets the tone (tense) for the entire sentence, thereby changing 'Annie is pointing' to 'Annie was pointing'. So, while there is an influence, it is not in the category of modification.
– user27280
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1
I'm not sure if you're really interested in the technical terms, but the question as phrased doesn't quite make sense. It doesn't modify anything, it's predicating. Predicates and modifiers are two different things.
– snailboat♦
5 hours ago
'The thing Annie was pointing at' or 'What Annie was pointing at' seems more in line with the original text. Where are you seeing the word 'long'?
– user27280
4 hours ago
@user27280 I thought this was implied by 一本 (one long cylindrical thing). Maybe this is wrong of me. You are right, there is no word that directly means long in this sentence
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@snailboat I'm all for technical if it can help me understand. Not sure if this is right, but assuming a predicate is defined as "the part that tells us what the subject does or is". Does this mean だった is predicating Annie and my first assumption was correct?
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
Expanding on @naruto's answer below: The tense of the final verb (or copula in this case) sets the tone (tense) for the entire sentence, thereby changing 'Annie is pointing' to 'Annie was pointing'. So, while there is an influence, it is not in the category of modification.
– user27280
2 hours ago
1
1
I'm not sure if you're really interested in the technical terms, but the question as phrased doesn't quite make sense. It doesn't modify anything, it's predicating. Predicates and modifiers are two different things.
– snailboat♦
5 hours ago
I'm not sure if you're really interested in the technical terms, but the question as phrased doesn't quite make sense. It doesn't modify anything, it's predicating. Predicates and modifiers are two different things.
– snailboat♦
5 hours ago
'The thing Annie was pointing at' or 'What Annie was pointing at' seems more in line with the original text. Where are you seeing the word 'long'?
– user27280
4 hours ago
'The thing Annie was pointing at' or 'What Annie was pointing at' seems more in line with the original text. Where are you seeing the word 'long'?
– user27280
4 hours ago
@user27280 I thought this was implied by 一本 (one long cylindrical thing). Maybe this is wrong of me. You are right, there is no word that directly means long in this sentence
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@user27280 I thought this was implied by 一本 (one long cylindrical thing). Maybe this is wrong of me. You are right, there is no word that directly means long in this sentence
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@snailboat I'm all for technical if it can help me understand. Not sure if this is right, but assuming a predicate is defined as "the part that tells us what the subject does or is". Does this mean だった is predicating Annie and my first assumption was correct?
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@snailboat I'm all for technical if it can help me understand. Not sure if this is right, but assuming a predicate is defined as "the part that tells us what the subject does or is". Does this mean だった is predicating Annie and my first assumption was correct?
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
Expanding on @naruto's answer below: The tense of the final verb (or copula in this case) sets the tone (tense) for the entire sentence, thereby changing 'Annie is pointing' to 'Annie was pointing'. So, while there is an influence, it is not in the category of modification.
– user27280
2 hours ago
Expanding on @naruto's answer below: The tense of the final verb (or copula in this case) sets the tone (tense) for the entire sentence, thereby changing 'Annie is pointing' to 'Annie was pointing'. So, while there is an influence, it is not in the category of modification.
– user27280
2 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
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This is a rather simple example of a cleft sentence.
アニーは一本のなわばしごを指さしていた。
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
It was a long rope ladder that Annie was pointing to.
Grammatically speaking, だった is modifying nothing.
Note: This の/it is referring to a tangible object, so in this case, it is possible to translate the sentence using the simple grammar of relative clause: "The thing (=の) Annie was pointing to was a long rope ladder." But cleft sentence is a grammaticalized concept that has a wider range of usages.
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
add a comment |
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This is a rather simple example of a cleft sentence.
アニーは一本のなわばしごを指さしていた。
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
It was a long rope ladder that Annie was pointing to.
Grammatically speaking, だった is modifying nothing.
Note: This の/it is referring to a tangible object, so in this case, it is possible to translate the sentence using the simple grammar of relative clause: "The thing (=の) Annie was pointing to was a long rope ladder." But cleft sentence is a grammaticalized concept that has a wider range of usages.
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
add a comment |
This is a rather simple example of a cleft sentence.
アニーは一本のなわばしごを指さしていた。
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
It was a long rope ladder that Annie was pointing to.
Grammatically speaking, だった is modifying nothing.
Note: This の/it is referring to a tangible object, so in this case, it is possible to translate the sentence using the simple grammar of relative clause: "The thing (=の) Annie was pointing to was a long rope ladder." But cleft sentence is a grammaticalized concept that has a wider range of usages.
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
add a comment |
This is a rather simple example of a cleft sentence.
アニーは一本のなわばしごを指さしていた。
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
It was a long rope ladder that Annie was pointing to.
Grammatically speaking, だった is modifying nothing.
Note: This の/it is referring to a tangible object, so in this case, it is possible to translate the sentence using the simple grammar of relative clause: "The thing (=の) Annie was pointing to was a long rope ladder." But cleft sentence is a grammaticalized concept that has a wider range of usages.
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
This is a rather simple example of a cleft sentence.
アニーは一本のなわばしごを指さしていた。
Annie was pointing to a long rope ladder.
アニーが指さしているのは、一本のなわばしごだった。
It was a long rope ladder that Annie was pointing to.
Grammatically speaking, だった is modifying nothing.
Note: This の/it is referring to a tangible object, so in this case, it is possible to translate the sentence using the simple grammar of relative clause: "The thing (=の) Annie was pointing to was a long rope ladder." But cleft sentence is a grammaticalized concept that has a wider range of usages.
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
edited 1 hour ago
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
answered 2 hours ago
narutonaruto
156k8149291
156k8149291
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
add a comment |
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
Or simply "What Annie was pointing to ..."
– Mathieu Bouville
17 mins ago
add a comment |
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1
I'm not sure if you're really interested in the technical terms, but the question as phrased doesn't quite make sense. It doesn't modify anything, it's predicating. Predicates and modifiers are two different things.
– snailboat♦
5 hours ago
'The thing Annie was pointing at' or 'What Annie was pointing at' seems more in line with the original text. Where are you seeing the word 'long'?
– user27280
4 hours ago
@user27280 I thought this was implied by 一本 (one long cylindrical thing). Maybe this is wrong of me. You are right, there is no word that directly means long in this sentence
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
@snailboat I'm all for technical if it can help me understand. Not sure if this is right, but assuming a predicate is defined as "the part that tells us what the subject does or is". Does this mean だった is predicating Annie and my first assumption was correct?
– Tylersansan
3 hours ago
Expanding on @naruto's answer below: The tense of the final verb (or copula in this case) sets the tone (tense) for the entire sentence, thereby changing 'Annie is pointing' to 'Annie was pointing'. So, while there is an influence, it is not in the category of modification.
– user27280
2 hours ago