You and I belong together
You and I too proud to lie
Don't know why it took so long
Till we got this far
You and I could love forever
You and I, God knows, we'll try
In the mirror of your eyes
I am not alone
You and I
(Sandra “You and I”)
According to linguists, generalized-personal sentences are a peculiar link between
personal and impersonal sentences. The last one is also not a homogenous group, which
falls into four main subtypes: impersonal sentences referring to the physical, emotional
and mental states of man; impersonal sentences referring to the category of modality;
impersonal sentences indicating the location of an object; impersonal sentences on the
designation of natural phenomena [7, p.197-198]. For Eurodisco ELT, these subtypes
are rather exceptional than specific ones:
- the category of modality in an impersonal sentence can be expressed both in the
active and passive voice:
Let's not be the ones outside
Looking at the world go by
Saw you standing all alone
Wasted time has gone for good
Play no more, it's understood
Come to the twilight zone,
Let me feel your secret hand
Like a feather on the sand.
Only made of gold
You can make me feel a king
And surrender everything.
A fire can't control
(Fancy “Balero”)
- impersonal sentences, referring to the physical, emotional and mental states of a
man, are mainly related to the speaker’s feelings of love and sympathy:
Out of control the frozen ice
I am between two fires
I play the role I play the dice
Oh with my desire
I know how dangerous is love
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