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I came across this sentence this morning,
The lunch lines at the little midtown restaurants have grown so long that lunching out itself is in danger of oblivion.
It's hard for me to analyze the sentence. What's the exact meaning of this sentence? What is the subject of it? It uses "have grown" to suggest that the subject should be "lines"? It seems awkward anyway. Is "line" a noun or a verb here?
It's not awkward, it's a perfectly good sentence. "Lines," as you say, is the subject.
The lunch lines -- that is, the queues of people waiting to order lunch -- have grown. They're longer than they used to be. And because of this, it's becoming less practical to go to a restaurant to eat lunch, because you have to wait too long.
