Sometimes I forget I was ever a child.

[LionelEdwards]

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?

Drop the "ever" from both parts of the sentences, and they mean
exactly the same thing:

"Sometimes I forget I was a child. Young and stupid and trusting.”

Maybe when you say simply, "I was once a child", you couldn't say: I was
ever a child.

You could say it, but it would mean something different. It would mean
"I was always a child".

But in the sentence of "I forget I was ever a child," "forget" has a
negative connotation, so ever could be used there.
Because "ever" is generally used in negative/ interrogative sentences.
Am I right?

No. The Lord's Prayer finishes with "...forever and ever. Amen."

[LionelEdwards]

This Paul Robeson song jumps out at me.

"Sometimes I feel like a motherless child".

[HenHanna]

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?

ever is like pas in French. [in the slightest
amount]


so yes, in a sense... that ever is like Once.


1. Let me know if you need help.
2. Let me know if you ever need help. --- ever = [in the
slightest amount]

[HenHanna]

i was going to ask about +0000 ------ Is he posting from the UK
?

but my post has +0000 too

Post by HenHanna

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?

ever is like pas in French. [in the slightest
amount]
so yes, in a sense... that ever is like Once.
1. Let me know if you need help.
2. Let me know if you ever need help. --- ever = [in the slightest
amount]

[tonbei]

"ever" is an emphatic word, so here it emphasizes the quoted sentence.
If so, still what I don't know is which part is emphasized "I forget
sometimes" or "I was a child", or the whole sentence.

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

Post by tonbei
"ever" is an emphatic word, so here it emphasizes the quoted sentence.

Where is "here"? What sentence?

Post by tonbei
If so, still what I don't know is which part is emphasized "I forget
sometimes" or "I was a child", or the whole sentence.

[Peter Moylan]

Post by tonbei
"ever" is an emphatic word, so here it emphasizes the quoted
sentence. If so, still what I don't know is which part is emphasized
"I forget sometimes" or "I was a child", or the whole sentence.

Let's restore the original sentences.

Post by tonbei
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.” ("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)

I guess the point has already been made that "ever" has a different
meaning in the two sentences. In the second sentence "ever" just means
"always". That's the simple case.

In the first sentence the negative-polarity "forget" makes the "ever"
mean "at any time". (Rather than the "at every time" meaning it would
have in a positive-polarity sentence.) Switching to a positive form of the
statement, we get "sometimes I believe that I was never a child".

The "never" and "ever" here are absolutes. In either form, the sentence
is stronger than weaker forms like "I forget that I was once a child"
which concede that he/she was a child for at least some of the time.

So I guess the answer to your question is that "ever" emphasizes the
clause "I was a child".

[Snidely]

Post by LionelEdwards

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?

Drop the "ever" from both parts of the sentences, and they mean
"Sometimes I forget I was a child. Young and stupid and trusting.”

You're right, but the two "ever"s are different ... the first refers
having /once/ been a child but a child no longer, and the second means
"always", as in "always young and stupid and trusting".

[A bounded "always", not permanent, more of a "continually". The
bounds, of course, are the end of childhood.]

Post by LionelEdwards

Maybe when you say simply, "I was once a child", you couldn't say: I was
ever a child.

You could say it, but it would mean something different. It would mean
"I was always a child".

I don't think you have it quite right if you take "always" or "ever" to
"permanently". Again, "continually" is in play. But yes, the "ever"
is different from "once" in this case. Something has to happen ("I
forget") for the "once" meaning to work.

Post by LionelEdwards

But in the sentence of "I forget I was ever a child," "forget" has a
negative connotation, so ever could be used there.
Because "ever" is generally used in negative/ interrogative sentences.
Am I right?

No. The Lord's Prayer finishes with "...forever and ever. Amen."

Does that really contradict "generally"? I'm not sure. There's also a
set phrase "ever and ever", which isn't really different from "forever
and ever". "Forever" seems to have generally displaced "ever" in
durations.

Also, that ending may have been tacked on by later generations, and not
have been in the original.

/dps "so mote it be"

[tonbei]

If try to put it by different words or like dictionary Longman's style,
how about this?
"Sometimes I forget I was at any time a child in a certain period of my
life."

[lar3ryca]

Post by tonbei
If try to put it by different words or like dictionary Longman's style,
how about this?
"Sometimes I forget I was at any time a child in a certain period of my
life."

In the words of Mark Twain, "Eschew verbosity".

[Steve Hayes]

Post by tonbei
If try to put it by different words or like dictionary Longman's style,
how about this?
"Sometimes I forget I was at any time a child in a certain period of my
life."

As an explanation of the original it's OK, but it would make a very
clumsy substitute.

[Snidely]

If try to put it by different words or like dictionary Longman's style, how
about this?
"Sometimes I forget I was at any time a child in a certain period of my
life."

Better would be, "Sometimes I forget that I used to be a child."

/dps

[Rich Ulrich]

Post by Snidely

Post by LionelEdwards

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?

Drop the "ever" from both parts of the sentences, and they mean
"Sometimes I forget I was a child. Young and stupid and trusting.”

You're right, but the two "ever"s are different ... the first refers
having /once/ been a child but a child no longer, and the second means
"always", as in "always young and stupid and trusting".
[A bounded "always", not permanent, more of a "continually". The
bounds, of course, are the end of childhood.]

I agree that the second 'ever' COULD mean 'always' --
but that seems somewhat poetic or sophisticated to me.

Given the other criticisms I've seen of Cornwall here, I suspect
that the period would have been a comma but this period
indicates a longer pause than the comma. So her
intended meaning was duplication of the first 'ever'.

[jerryfriedman]

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?
Maybe when you say simply, "I was once a child", you couldn't say: I was
ever a child.
But in the sentence of "I forget I was ever a child," "forget" has a
negative connotation, so ever could be used there.
Because "ever" is generally used in negative/ interrogative sentences.
Am I right?

I think so, in a limited way. You could also say "I forgot that I
had any."

Linguists--at least some linguists--call this phenomenon
"negative polarity". "Ever", "at all", "either" at the end of a
clause, etc., are "negative polarity items", and negation,
questions, "if", etc., are "negative polarity triggers" that
allow you to use those items. But "forget" doesn't allow
some negative polarity items. For instance, you can say
"I don't remember that either," but you can't say *"I've
forgotten that either."

(Negative polarity items are different for different dialects
and even different speakers. "Budge" is a negative polarity
item for most Americans, but not for some British people,
or so I'm told.)

--
Jerry Friedman

[Steve Hayes]

Post by jerryfriedman

I have a question about the following sentences from a novel.
Sometimes I forget I was ever a child. Ever young and stupid and
trusting.”
("Port Mortuary" by Patricia Cornwell, p258)
question: about "ever" or its usage in this sentence.
Could it be said also like: "Sometimes I forget I was once a child." ?
Maybe when you say simply, "I was once a child", you couldn't say: I was
ever a child.
But in the sentence of "I forget I was ever a child," "forget" has a
negative connotation, so ever could be used there.
Because "ever" is generally used in negative/ interrogative sentences.
Am I right?

I think so, in a limited way. You could also say "I forgot that I
had any."
Linguists--at least some linguists--call this phenomenon
"negative polarity". "Ever", "at all", "either" at the end of a
clause, etc., are "negative polarity items", and negation,
questions, "if", etc., are "negative polarity triggers" that
allow you to use those items. But "forget" doesn't allow
some negative polarity items. For instance, you can say
"I don't remember that either," but you can't say *"I've
forgotten that either."
(Negative polarity items are different for different dialects
and even different speakers. "Budge" is a negative polarity
item for most Americans, but not for some British people,
or so I'm told.)

Like the bloke who said "I will never, never, never, never, ever vote
for X (political party)!"