What if Regulus is ALIVE? (LONG)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 162022

Alla wrote:
> >
> > There are quite a few quotes from the books and the interviews
that I misremembered or completely forgotten  unfortunately and I
usually say so right away on list. This one is not one of those. I
always read *these days** as qualifier for both actions ( dead and
quiet- these days). Yes, I know it may be misinterpretation, but I am
still saying that this is a strange answer.
<snip>
> 
> Magpie:
> Does it really sound like she's hiding something there?  It's just
that to me these things sound totally straightforward both times. <snip>
> 
> In the second quote, it seems like she flat out says he's dead.  I
see how the "these days" could refer to both his being dead and being
quiet, but my first instinct is to hear it as saying he's dead and
therefore he's quiet these days. To me it seems like both a
straightforward confirmation that he's dead and a slight coyness about
not saying that he won't play a part from the past.  Most of all it
seems to just fit with the way the question was posed.  She was asked
if we'd be hearing from a dead man, so she made a joke about the
social calendar of the dead guy. <snip>

Carol responds:
I agree with Magpie. To repeat the second quote, which was snipped in
Magpie's post, it's "Well, he's dead, so he's pretty quiet these
days." The main clause, clear and simple, is "he's dead." "So he's
pretty quiet these days" is a subordinate clause, which can be dropped
without substantially altering the meaning of the sentence. "These
days" belongs to the subordinate clause, not to the main clause, IOW
it modifies "he's pretty quiet," not "he's dead." "So" as used here
means "consequently" or "therefore." He's dead; consequently, he's
quiet. And, of course, "so" also belongs to the subordinate clause.
It's the subordinating conjunction.

If anyone can find another definition of "so" that fits this sentence
and consequently alters it to fit Alla's reading, bearing in mind that
the subordinating conjunction modifies the subordinate clause and not
the main clause, please let me know. Otherwise, I'll continue to
accept that straightforward reading.

Carol McGonagall, adjusting her glasses and transforming into a cat now