Asked by dsfs
Why is “forgive and forget” a phrase rather than a clause?
It is missing a subject.
It is missing a verb.
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
A clause normally needs a subject and a predicate (a finite verb). But imperatives are special: the subject is conventionally omitted because it’s understood to be you. So “forgive and forget” does contain verbs — two imperatives — and its subject is the implicit you:
(You) forgive and (you) forget (it).
Grammatically that makes it an (elliptical) imperative clause made of two coordinated verb phrases. In dictionaries it’s often called a “phrase” or “idiom” because it’s a fixed expression and the object is omitted/understood, but it’s not lacking a verb. The apparent “missing subject” is simply the normal omission of the second‑person subject in imperatives.
(You) forgive and (you) forget (it).
Grammatically that makes it an (elliptical) imperative clause made of two coordinated verb phrases. In dictionaries it’s often called a “phrase” or “idiom” because it’s a fixed expression and the object is omitted/understood, but it’s not lacking a verb. The apparent “missing subject” is simply the normal omission of the second‑person subject in imperatives.
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