A verb need not follow but.iongmat wrote:Hello Mitch, I believe aditya8062 (the original poster) "is" using the correct structure ("has yet to translate) in the "elided" sentence below:
....and helped the stock market reach record highs, but [The Federal Reserve bond buyback program has] yet to translate into consistent job growth across the county
I believe his question is that why can't we use "ellipsis" to interpret A in the above way (aditya8062, please correct me if I mis-understood your question).
As I mentioned in my pst above, when "but" is used as a conjunction, there must explicitly be a "verb" (helping/main) after "but".
Could you let us know what are your thoughts on this.
A guiding principle:
Words may be omitted only if the intended meaning is crystal clear ON A FIRST READING.
The process is simple but effective.
Here, the intended meaning is crystal clear on a first reading:
The process is simple but [the process is] effective.
An OA from GMAC:
...an achievement that other Scandinavian kings attempted to repeat later in the century, but without success.
Here, the intended meaning is crystal clear on a first reading:
...an achievement that other Scandinavian kings attempted to repeat later in the century, but [that other Scandinavian kings attempted] without success.
In each of the examples above, a reader can be certain -- ON A FIRST READING -- what words are omitted but implied.
Answer choice A in the SC above:
The Federal Reserve bond buyback program has buoyed Wall Street, but yet to translate into consistent job growth...
Here, a reader might expect the sentence to proceed as follows:
The Federal Reserve bond buyback program has buoyed Wall Street, but yet to translate into consistent job growth have been the most recent gains in the economy.
An inelegant sentence, but a reasonable interpretation.
The INTENDED meaning is as follows:
The Federal Reserve bond buyback program has buoyed Wall Street but [HAS] yet to translate into consistent job growth.
Also a reasonable interpretation.
Since there is no way for a reader to be certain -- ON A FIRST READING -- that the has in brackets is implied, the omission of has in A is unacceptable.
