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"But what about Sir Isaac Newton, who some contend was autistic?”

I may not get this. I may get here and there complete sentences may not contain subject verb object. I think they got to contain subject (intransitive) verb? In But what about Sir Isaac Newton, who some contend was autistic? there seems no main clause, no subject (intransitive verb) bit. May this seem like a complete sentence maybe a complete interrogative(?) not containing a main clause or complete sentence bit(?) (subject intransitive verb[?])?

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    I've got two words: Think ellipsis!
    – M.A.R.
    Jun 15, 2015 at 21:09
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    'But' here feels like a conjunction, meaning that the sentence before this one problably has a lot to do with this sentence's structure. Jun 15, 2015 at 22:06
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    @MichaelDorgan puts his finger on it: What about X is not a complete sentence, but it is a complete and meaningful utterance. It draws its meaning from the context; the speaker invites her hearer to include Sir Isaac Newton in the context which the hearer has just introduced. . . . the who clause is subordinate, an ordinary relative clause. Jun 15, 2015 at 22:17
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    Aside (not answering your question): may and seem are both used to express uncertainty - they can be used together in some contexts, but in different ones than in your question. In questions may is very often used to ask permission; if you want to ask whether something is possible, it is better to use can instead. It would help you phrase your questions more clearly, IMO :-)
    – Lucky
    Jun 15, 2015 at 22:20
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    @M.A.Ramezani I don't believe there is any ellipsis at play here.
    – user230
    Jun 28, 2015 at 11:35

1 Answer 1

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This sentence is somewhat deceptive in its form, so it's no surprise that folks have difficulty parsing it.

Questions usually create interrogative sentences, but in this case we have an indirect question which actually makes this sentence declarative. Standing on its own (minus its predicate clause and conjunction) the sentence What about Sir Isaac Newton? is a declarative statement the same way I wonder how hot it is today, is. This is our base sentence.

The predicate clause who some contend was autistic following the comma is just adding additional information about our subject Sir Isaac Newton, so this is fine. And that brings us to the first word: but.

Conjunctions like but or and can indeed appear in grammatically valid sentences as the first word. In this case, the word but ties this sentence with the one that comes before it with a meaning of with the exception of.

So, to sum up:

But what about Sir Isaac Newton, who some contend was autistic?

The declarative base is bold italic, with the italic conjunction tying Isaac Newton as an exception to what was described before, and the predicate clause after the comma expounding upon the subject of Sir Isaac Newton.

EDIT (6/30/15)

The question has been brought up by the original poster as to how the sentence "What about Sir Isaac Newton?" is a complete sentence when it lacks a verb. This is a valid question and involves another more complex mechanic of grammar: Ellipsis.

Ellipsis is the omission of one or more words from a clause that are understood in the context of the remaining elements. If the sentence stood alone, the ellipsis would likely be a verb-ellipsis, with the (limited) context pointing toward "what" being used as to inquire the reason or purpose of something.

In your example, however, the entire sentence begins with a conjunction that ties it with the previous sentence. Combined with the understanding of the sentence itself, we can infer that the question inquires after the reason why Sir Isaac Newton is an exception to whatever was listed before. Thus in this case, the verb clause "is different" is what is (most likely) being inferred (pursuant to the content of the previous sentence).

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  • So, What about Sir Issac Newton, main clause; What, pronoun(?), about, preposition(?); Sir Isaac Newton, object(?); I thought main clauses (independent clauses[?]) request a verb and maybe an argument, there may seem no verb here to get a main clause (dependent clause[?])? I guess I may get it may seem declarative. I maybe didn’t think that. I may not get where it contains a verb to maybe get it to seem like a complete sentence?
    – saySay
    Jun 30, 2015 at 3:23
  • @saySay, I have edited my answer to address the rather valid question you raised in your comment. Jun 30, 2015 at 21:44

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