This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
parasitic reversal
place
Feb 18, 2015 04:49
9 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term

should she prove to harbor her share of the peculiarities

English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Thriller Fiction
I am from North Alabama, from Winston County.” The class
murmured apprehensively, should she prove to harbor her share of the
peculiarities indigenous to that region. (When Alabama seceded from the Union
on January 11, 1861, Winston County seceded from Alabama, and every child in
Maycomb County knew it.)

the new teacher introduced herself in To kill a mockingbird.

How does the sentence "should she..to that region" mean? She should hide her strangeness that come along with the region she came from?
I don't understand the structure "should she..." either" Does it express Wish she should do...?

Thank you very much in advance, you genius guys!
Responses
4 +1 [The students are concerned that] she might be strange
4 +10 in case it turns out she has peculiarities
Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Tony M

When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.

How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:

An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)

A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).

Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.

When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.

* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.

Discussion

Giusi N. Feb 19, 2015:
Yes: "lest she should prove" is the correct form.
Peter Simon Feb 18, 2015:
@Howard and Gallagy, I think what you are calling attention to and missing is why should was used. Well, as far I know, it gives a reduced sense of probability to the action/though to occur v. a normal condit. sent. As far as I see it, the answer is correct and enough of an explanation.
Howard Sugar Feb 18, 2015:
typos all over the place!!!
Howard Sugar Feb 18, 2015:
Typos all over the play it should read many subjunctive forms.
Howard Sugar Feb 18, 2015:
English doesn't have may subjunctive forms but they do indeed exist. (such as I wish I were home) The clause is a hypothetical condition (second conditional)
Howard Sugar Feb 18, 2015:
Should she is a subjunctive form in Engish which means "If she should" in the same way that "If I were you" (Not "if I was you" can be transformed into "Were I you". Hence the sentence could be read as "If she should prove to"
Peter Simon Feb 18, 2015:
Why, Jack, are you saying this because there seems to be a rule that inversion should BEGIN a sentence and shouldn't be used in the middle of one? I have read numerous examples when similar structures were used at the beginning of a clause in the middle, so I think yours if a variation of a legitime structure.
Jack Doughty Feb 18, 2015:
Lest she should prove... It seems to me an incorrect use of English here, should be "lest she should prove to harbor..."

Responses

+1
9 hrs
Selected

[The students are concerned that] she might be strange

The word "harbor" is closer to "possess" or "maintain" than "hide".

"The class murmured apprehensively, [concerned] in case she in fact does possess the strangeness that the region is associated with. "

The students are concerned that she would possess the kind of weirdness that Winston County is associated with, because Winston County chose not to side with Alabama during the civil war.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tony M
587 days
neutral writeaway : no and not great English (verb tenses for example) in your explanation
587 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you very muchhhhh. It's so easy to understand"
+10
13 mins

in case it turns out she has peculiarities

In case it turns out she has peculiarities indigenous to Alabama
Peer comment(s):
agree Jack Doughty
1 hr
Thank you.
agree Arabic & More
2 hrs
Thank you.
agree Carol Gullidge
3 hrs
Thank you.
agree Natalia Pashkovskaya : Should she... stands for "if she..." sounds pretty standard English to me
4 hrs
agree Yvonne Gallagher : yes, but you haven't given much of an explanation or answered Asker's question...
4 hrs
agree claude-andrew
4 hrs
agree magdadh
5 hrs
agree acetran
10 hrs
agree Henry Schroeder
12 hrs
agree Tony M
587 days
Something went wrong...
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search