Ellipsis
Posted: Wed May 12, 2021 3:32 pm
Dear Alan,
I found the below example sentence in a dictionary:
She remained silent, for her heart was heavy and her spirits low.
I understand that the verb were was omitted after spirits (The original sentence should be: She remained silent, for her heart was heavy and her spirits were low). But isn't it wrong to omit the verb 'were' here? I thought ellipsis could only be made when both her heart and her spirits shared the same verb (were), which is not the case here.
Thanks!
Lone
I found the below example sentence in a dictionary:
She remained silent, for her heart was heavy and her spirits low.
I understand that the verb were was omitted after spirits (The original sentence should be: She remained silent, for her heart was heavy and her spirits were low). But isn't it wrong to omit the verb 'were' here? I thought ellipsis could only be made when both her heart and her spirits shared the same verb (were), which is not the case here.
Thanks!
Lone