Gregory's Server|
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 @Miriamm Historically, the term โredโ has been used as a broad descriptor for a range of hues, including what we would now distinguish as purple. This categorization stems from a time when languages had fewer words for colors, and โredโ was one of the primary color terms used. Best regards, @Miriamm we actually call them purple onions here in Colombia, because THEY'RE PURPLE     @Miriamm Your "revolution" won't be taken seriously if you keep splitting infinitives like sign guy did.  @thedansimonson @Miriamm "[to be] purple." If you're a split-infinitive semi-purist as I am (and yeah, I know most modern grammarians disagree), it should read "clearly are purple." this is not an infinitive. this is a copular verb. that reading would make every verb an infinitive. the split infinitive rule was made up by Victorian grammarians in an attempt to make English more Latin-like. it has no actual bearing on actual language. even so, "purple" is an adjective, so the abolition on split infinitives is irrelevant. "purple" accepts adverbs, the reading here being an indication of where red onions stand on the purple scale. @thedansimonson @Miriamm But "be" is the primary English copular. It's embedded in every infinitive, so daring "it's a cipular verb, not an infinitive" doesn't make sense to me. And the infinitive structure โ "is purple" โ is right there on the sign. The modifier, "clearly," โ again, if you're a semi-purist like me; that's another discussion โ therefore doesn't go between "is" and "onion." Also, my original tweet was a joke. @msbellows @thedansimonson @Miriamm Infinitive... You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means. @msbellows @Miriamm "be" is one form of the verb "to be", but it's only an infinitive when a "to" prepends it. An infinitive in English is a verb inflected by "to:" "to buy," "to be," "to speak." There are plenty of infinitives that have nothing to do with "be," e.g. "I want Steve to buy coffee." "to buy" is an infinitive in that sentence. "is purple" is not an infinitive structure. "to be purple" would be an infinitive structure. @msbellows @Miriamm  @msbellows @Miriamm That is indeed the infinitive. It is absent from that sign, split or otherwise.    @Miriamm Herself asked me what kind of onions I wanted and I said "white ones" and the state of me when she got back with *really* white ones instead of the normal kind ๐ฑ   @Miriamm  @Miriamm  @Miriamm   |
@Miriamm But...they are opaque.