02:41 Nov 8, 2020 |
English language (monolingual) [Non-PRO] General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / elementary grammar: word order | |||||||
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| Selected response from: Tony M France Local time: 14:27 | ||||||
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5 +9 | what a lovely meal that was! |
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what a lovely meal that was what a lovely meal that was! Explanation: This is the normal EN word order; the reversal of 'was that' would not be used in normal speech, though such construction might be found in e.g. a poetic context. If you think of the original expression as being 'That was a lovely meal', then to make the exclamation using 'what...!', we simply split the sentence in two and invert the elements. No reference needed: this is just basic EN grammar. Note that your inverted version might be found in some regional usages, or use by 'uneducated' people — but it could not be cnsidered correct 'standard' EN usage. 'We had a great time' > 'What a great time we had!' |
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