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  • Re: was was etc.

    From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to alt.usage.english,sci.lang,rec.puzzles on Fri Jan 23 03:01:12 2026
    From Newsgroup: sci.lang



    both in Eng and NL : was
    Eng what is German was

    maybe using the above, you can easily make a sentence with 3 or 4 consec. was.


    guido wugi <wugi@brol.invalid> posted:

    Re Ernie's post on "is is". Examples enough as seen in the thread.

    In Dutch there is a sentence form that has this too, but English hasn't because it doesn't do inversion:

    Wat goed (/slecht/nog te bekijken/...) *is, is* dat [er ook nog iets
    anders komt...]

    E. What *is* good (/bad/to be looked after/...), *is* that [there are
    more aspects to be...]

    (The nearest E. examples I saw in the thread are like: What there is, is that...)



    Anyway, just to mention yet that to many speakers (at least Flemings),
    this confuses them so as to 'jump' the second "is":
    Wat nog belangrijk *is,* [...] dat ...

    It reminded me also of the next examples, and my question about them:
    Which came first, the E or NL one? -->:

    Eer was was was was was is.
    Before was was was, was was is.
    Sentences seem the same, but the "word order" is different (inversion!).

    Google tells me Dutch was first.
    Sounds logical, as it is a witty answer to the question:
    Wat was was eer was was was?
    The above answer answers

    > What was "was" ere "was" "was" was? (with Dutch word order:-)


    But the question was meant to be
    What was "wax" ere "wax" "wax" was?
    Could also have meant "laundry" (washing), for that matter.
    Or "growth" (waxing moon)...

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