a single chair 'vacant'

deepcosmosMember

Hello, everyone,

“Many people were standing, for there wasn't a single chair vacant nor any space left on the benches.”

Could you explain to me why the writer prefers ‘a single chair vacant’ to ‘a single vacant chair’ in above sentence, while I often see such a post-modifying adjective in “There is noun ~ ” pattern?

What is the writer intending through the post-modifying adjective?

Thanking in advance,

2/24/217:15 AM

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Jack MilgramMember

Hi deepcosmos,

I think it's just a parallel structure used: a single chair vacant/any space left. It means offering multiple ideas and using consistent grammar forms for a smoother delivery (from 11 Basic Writing Rules, point 11).

You can say "a single vacant chair." But then if you decide to paraphrase the second part, it won't work. "Any left space" is ungrammatical as the word "left" is rarely used as an adjective.

2/26/218:02 PM

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deepcosmosMember

@Jack Milgram posted:
I think it's just a parallel structure used: a single chair vacant/any space left. It means offering multiple ideas and using consistent grammar forms for a smoother delivery (from 11 Basic Writing Rules, point 11).
You can say "a single vacant chair." But then if you decide to paraphrase the second part, it won't work. "Any left space" is ungrammatical as the word "left" is rarely used as an adjective.

Hello, Jack Milgram -- really appreciate your comment with note, which helps me a lot.

Best RGDS,

2/26/218:17 PM

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