Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
Even that she left lying
English answer:
she even left that (hair-tidy) lying where it was
Added to glossary by
Ahmad Hosseinzadeh
Nov 13, 2012 15:34
11 yrs ago
English term
Iran
MA in Translation; Arts & Humanities
Native in: Persian (Farsi) 
Works in: English to Persian (Farsi), Persian (Farsi) to English, Dari to English, and 2 more.
Even that she left lying
English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Prelude (a short story by K. Mansfield)
Dear all,
Here is the second problem from the same story, Prelude by K. Mansfield:
"She looked among it but found nothing except a hair-tidy with a heart painted on it that had belonged to the servant girl. Even that she left lying, and she trailed through the narrow passage into the drawing-room. The Venetian blind was pulled down but not drawn close."
I simply can't picture and understand this phrase/sentence!
Many thanks in advance.
Here is the second problem from the same story, Prelude by K. Mansfield:
"She looked among it but found nothing except a hair-tidy with a heart painted on it that had belonged to the servant girl. Even that she left lying, and she trailed through the narrow passage into the drawing-room. The Venetian blind was pulled down but not drawn close."
I simply can't picture and understand this phrase/sentence!
Many thanks in advance.
Responses
| 4 +9 | she left even that lying where it was |
Charles Davis
|
Responses
+9
3 mins
Charles Davis
Spain
Spain
Native in English
&
English
Specializes in field
Spain
Related KudoZ points
:
236
Selected
she left even that lying where it was
In other words, she found it, looked it, but didn't pick it up and take it away; she left it lying: left it where it was.
Presumably it says "even", because of all the objects she saw this one was the most interesting and the one you might have expected her to pick up, but she didn't even pick this up.
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Note added at 4 mins (2012-11-13 15:39:07 GMT)
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Sorry: "looked at it", not "looked it".
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Note added at 18 mins (2012-11-13 15:53:35 GMT)
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I expect what puzzled you was the inversion: "that" is the object of the verb "left" and would normally follow it, but here it comes before the verb (this is a way of emphasising it).
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Note added at 6 hrs (2012-11-13 21:53:38 GMT)
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I should have realised that the problem here was the interpretation of "that", which is a pronoun, referring to the hair-tidy, not a conjunction.
Presumably it says "even", because of all the objects she saw this one was the most interesting and the one you might have expected her to pick up, but she didn't even pick this up.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2012-11-13 15:39:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Sorry: "looked at it", not "looked it".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 18 mins (2012-11-13 15:53:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I expect what puzzled you was the inversion: "that" is the object of the verb "left" and would normally follow it, but here it comes before the verb (this is a way of emphasising it).
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2012-11-13 21:53:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I should have realised that the problem here was the interpretation of "that", which is a pronoun, referring to the hair-tidy, not a conjunction.
Note from asker:
| Many thanks Charles. Yes, I couldn't understand that "that" refers to the hair-tidy, and the sentence would mean "she even left that [hair-tidy] lying there [in the fireplace] untouched." |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Many thanks, Charles."
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