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How should I understand this sentence in the movie Bridgerton?

English Language & Usage Asked by Tan Mai on August 16, 2021

I just watched Bridgerton Season 1 Ep. 2 at scene 14.47 and the old lady goes

  • "You ate but not one bite at tea, my dear!"

The context is that 3 people were having tea together and the old lady complained about the young lady being not well fed.

What stucture is that?

Normally we have [verb] + [not] + [NP1] + [but] + [NP2] , meaning [verb NP2 only].

He scored not one goal, but 3 = He scored 3 goals.

But with this sentence, I’m completely in the dark.

One Answer

It's not standard. It seems to me a muddle of the following:

  • not one bite (i.e. no bites at all)
  • but one bite (i.e. only one bite)

The latter usage is sense 1 of the adverb "but".

The old lady's sentence, with "but not one bite", is not grammatical, but then the scriptwriter might well have deliberately made the character say that, to show a peculiarity of that character's speech.

Answered by Rosie F on August 16, 2021

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