SS/PS question

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "zanooda2" <zanooda2 at ...> wrote:
>
> Hi, guys! I need help with one sentence in SS/PS. Could some English-
> speaking person explain to me how they understand the following 
> sentence: "He caught that thing in his hand after a fifty-foot dive" 
> (Ch. 9, "The Midnight Duel", p.151 Am.ed. or p.113 Br.ed.). It's 
> something that McGonagall says to Wood, after witnessing Harry's dive 
> for the Remembrall. 
> 
> Does "in his hand" define the word "thing" here or does it define the 
> word "caught"? Does the first part of the sentence mean something 
> like "He caught the thing that he is holding now in his hand 
> [Remembrall]", or does it mean "He caught that thing with his hand/into 
> his hand/using his hand"?
> 
> I will really appreciate your help (off-list is also OK :-)), I'm kind 
> of in the middle of an argument about this sentence, LOL!

Geoff:
Curiously, I'm in the middle of a re-read of "Philosopher's Stone" 
and read this passage just a couple of days ago.

As a native UK English speaker, my usual reading of it is :

"He caught that thing-" and here I visualise Professor McGonagall 
pointing to the Remembrall - "-in his hand -" i.e. that's how he 
did it - "after a fifty-foot dive".

However, now that you raise the point, it could be interpreted just 
as validly as "He caught that thing in his hand -" - whatever it is - 
"- after a fifty-foot dive".

The nuance of the second version is that Oliver Wood would 
assume that he caught it in his hand, not in his teeth or between 
his knees or something equally unusual.

Thinking about it, both would be correct depending on how the 
reader sees it. I've always read it the first way, but now that you've 
suggested an alternative way, I see nothing wrong.

This probably doesn't help your argument one iota but you can put it 
forward that the first version is the way in which I - dare I say as a 
well-educated UK English speaker - would read it with the proviso 
that I can see that the second version also fits the scene.

It's a bit late to go searching in my books, but there is someone, 
whose identity slips my mind at this point, who says in LOTR "Go not 
to the elves for advice for they will say both yea and nay".
:-)