Isn't this sentence grammatically incomplete? ("S thought it better for Z to...")
Stanley had dug it(the hole) all himself. Zero had offered to help, but *Stanley thought it better for Zero to save his strength.*
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I'm curious about the grammatical structure of this sentence I marked in stars.
I feel like there should be a verb next to "it", as in, "but Stanley thought (that) it **was** better for Zero to save his strength." since the verb(thought) here requires a clause which needs a subject and verb.
So to me it feels like the sentence is incomplete.
What am I missing here?
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 2
1
It's perfectly correct in most aspects. However, the past perfect needs to be repeated for consistency. ...Stanley had thought...etc.
1
You're not missing anything. This is just a slightly idiomatic version. The meaning is exactly as you have it. Either version sounds OK to a (UK) English ear.
In fact, I believe - but I"m not a grammar expert - that what is missing is simply the infinitive "to be". I.e. S thought it (to be) better....
This is clearer with another example. Fred considered him a fool = Fred considered him to be a fool. In other words the "it" in your example and the "him" in mine, are both in fact object forms rather than subject forms. "It" is invariant so the subtle distinction is not obvious.
One thing to note is that this construction does feel ever so slightly historic. You're more likely to meet it in literature than in the modern spoken (or written) language.
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