Little is more disconcerting to the average citizen than the seeming inability of economists to agree on anything
I thinks this sentence is formed by inversion. Please, let me know. Thanks!
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1Yeah, its structure is somewhat inverted. "Normally," one would say, "The seeming inability of economists to agree on anything is disconcerting to the average citizen." Personally, I would have worded the sentence a bit differently. For example, "There are few things more disconcerting to the average citizen than the seeming inability of economists to agree on anything." In other words, of all the things the average citizen finds upsetting, the lack of agreement among economists is right up there in the top 10.– rhetoricianApr 19, 2017 at 0:17
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Thansk a lot :)– L.DayApr 19, 2017 at 0:26
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1 Answer
There's no inversion here.
In the main clause, little is the quantifier, the opposite of much, employed as a nominal, the subject of the clause. Many other quantifiers work the same way:
Few )
Some )
Many )> are more disconcerting than . . .
Most )
All )
None )
Little )> is more disconcerting than . . .
Much )
In the comparative phrase, seeming is the present participle of seem employed as an adjective, meaning ‘apparent’.
You may paraphrase:
The average citizen does not encounter many facts which are more disconcerting than the fact that economists cannot seem to agree on anything.
answered Apr 19, 2017 at 0:22
