"My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books."

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Tacia - 23 Feb 2010 10:10 GMT

Ladies and Gentlemen:

-------
My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four
thousand books.

(Quoted from /The Time Traveler's Wife/ by Audrey Niffenegger)
-------

The context talks about a young man taking a girl back to his
apartment.

Is the /is/ in the quoted sentence a sloppy use of the verb "to be"?
Would the semantics change if /is/ was changed to /has/?

Best Wishes,
Tacia

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James Hogg - 23 Feb 2010 10:15 GMT

> Ladies and Gentlemen:
>
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Is the /is/ in the quoted sentence a sloppy use of the verb "to be"?

I wouldn't call it sloppy. It is "be" in the sense of "consist of".

> Would the semantics change if /is/ was changed to /has/?

Yes, the sentence would not sound nearly as good.

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James

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Lars Eighner - 23 Feb 2010 13:26 GMT

In our last episode,
<d9734a6b-75bb-4968-8a90-6dcfacc767fd@k2g2000pro.googlegroups.com>, the
lovely and talented Tacia broadcast on alt.usage.english:

> Ladies and Gentlemen:

> -------
> My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four
> thousand books.

> (Quoted from /The Time Traveler's Wife/ by Audrey Niffenegger)
> -------

> The context talks about a young man taking a girl back to his
> apartment.

> Is the /is/ in the quoted sentence a sloppy use of the verb "to be"?

No. It is metaphor. We suppose, of course, there are walls, a ceiling, a
floor, and perhaps (or perhaps not) some other essential fixtures.

> Would the semantics change if /is/ was changed to /has/?

> Best Wishes,
> Tacia

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Lars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> Warbama's Afghaninam day: 83
2004.3 hours since Warbama declared Viet Nam II.
Warbama: An LBJ for the Twenty-First century. No hope. No change.

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Mark Brader - 23 Feb 2010 23:50 GMT

"Tacia" asked about:

> > My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four
> > thousand books.

> It is metaphor. We suppose, of course, there are walls, a ceiling, a
> floor, and perhaps (or perhaps not) some other essential fixtures.

That explains the sense of the sentence, but I don't think it qualifies
as a metaphor -- the word "basically" is acknowledging the existence of
other components, but says that they have no importance.

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Mark Brader, Toronto | Thus, "plain english" is the same as
msb@vex.net | "near-field spin". --Carl Ginnow

My text in this article is in the public domain.

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

"My apartment is basically a couch, an armchair, and about four thousand books."