Is "get the bad guy were ready to see their idols back in action" a run-on?

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Failed to understand "get the bad guy."

ontext:

Schwarzenegger is part of a vanguard of aging action movie icons -- one that includes Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis -- who are once again, quite proudly, making the sort of films that made them megastars in the 1980s and ‘90s. The resurgence of this “old style” action movie is thanks in large part to Stallone, whose 2008 film “Rambo” and 2010 all-star shoot ‘em up “The Expendables” helped renew interest in the then-antiquated genre. A generation of movie fans who’d grown up watching movie heroes like John Matrix, John Rambo, and John McClane get the bad guy were ready to see their idols back in action.
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http://ca.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/wide-screen/getting-too-old-schwarzenegger-stallone-willis-keep-trucking-173119639.html

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Type: Question • Score: 5 • Views: 828 • Replies: 15

[+3] - engineer - 04/23/2013You grouped the sentence wrong. The bolded clause describes fans. A generation of movie fans [b]whoâ��d grown up watching movie heroes like John Matrix, John Rambo, and John McClane get...

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@oristarA,

You grouped the sentence wrong. The bolded clause describes fans.

A generation of movie fans who’d grown up watching movie heroes like John Matrix, John Rambo, and John McClane get the bad guy were ready to see their idols back in action.

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@engineer,

engineer wrote:

You grouped the sentence wrong. The bolded clause describes fans.

A generation of movie fans who’d grown up watching movie heroes like John Matrix, John Rambo, and John McClane get the bad guy were ready to see their idols back in action.

Well, "watch...get" is the special yet common grammar ("watch...to get" is far easier to understand).
Thank you Engineer.

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@oristarA,

Watch doesn't mean get or anything like it. You watch a movie or tv, or two kids playing tag.
You get an ice cream. You fetch it, you obtain it, you take it. You would only watch ice cream melt.
You get an idea. You understand it, or an idea dawns on you, a lightbulb moment.
If you're "gunna get it", expect trouble, a beating or a good talking to.
"The Mounties always get their man". They always apprehend the bad guy, the criminal, or so the rumour goes.
There is a whole industry of movies made around the premise that the good guy always gets the bad guy. He beats him, he shoots him, he fights and he wins. He gets the honours, the kudos, the awards.
The good guy always gets the girl. He wins her heart, he gets a kiss, he engages in a big sloppy kiss. Get/s has a ton of meanings, or more precisely, can be used to mean a bunch or things and you only really 'get it' in context.
Get it, got it, good.

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@oristarA,

I don't think it is a special grammar. "Get" is just another verb in a common construction.

I watch my cat climb a tree.
He was watching a fish swim.
I watched a hero get the bad guy.

1 Reply

@Ceili,

Ceili wrote:

Watch doesn't mean get or anything like it. You watch a movie or tv, or two kids playing tag.
You get an ice cream. You fetch it, you obtain it, you take it. You would only watch ice cream melt.
You get an idea. You understand it, or an idea dawns on you, a lightbulb moment.
If you're "gunna get it", expect trouble, a beating or a good talking to.
"The Mounties always get their man". They always apprehend the bad guy, the criminal, or so the rumour goes.
There is a whole industry of movies made around the premise that the good guy always gets the bad guy. He beats him, he shoots him, he fights and he wins. He gets the honours, the kudos, the awards.
The good guy always gets the girl. He wins her heart, he gets a kiss, he engages in a big sloppy kiss. Get/s has a ton of meanings, or more precisely, can be used to mean a bunch or things and you only really 'get it' in context.
Get it, got it, good.

Thank you Ceili.
But I failed to get the slash in "Get/s." What does it mean?

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

I don't think it is a special grammar. "Get" is just another verb in a common construction.

I watch my cat climb a tree.
He was watching a fish swim.
I watched a hero get the bad guy.

I viewed it from an ESL angle, while you viewed it from native English context. That is why there is a difference. Smile

1 Reply

@oristarA,

oristarA wrote:

Thank you Ceili.
But I failed to get the slash in "Get/s." What does it mean?

It means her explanation applies to 'get' and 'gets'.

Sometimes we use the slash to indicate something is missing, like 'she/he/it'. I'm not going to argue whether it's correct/not correct, but the slash has come to have that use. It might help to understand the convention, but it might be better if you don't attempt it yourself.

0 Replies

@oristarA,

I am curious on how ESL works. Can you give me an example of a similar sentence where the "to" form (infinitive) is used?

2 Replies

@maxdancona,

Ok, I found it...

On verbs of perception (watch, see, observe) the "bare" infinitive is used. On other verbs, the "to" is used.

I watch my cat climb a tree.
I smell my cat eating fish.
I persuade my cat to climb a tree.

http://www.grammaring.com/see-watch-hear-listen-feel-smell-notice-observe-object-bare-infinitive

It is funny how in your native language it is so hard to explain the rules that you use automatically.

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@maxdancona,

Would you like to tell me what is your native language?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

sure? (although I thought I already knew)

1 Reply

@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

sure? (although I thought I already knew)

OK. Are you native English speaker?

1 Reply

@oristarA,

Yes, I am an American native English speaker. I do have a second language, but English is my first.

0 Replies

The sentence works better if it is broken up

A generation of movie fans who’d grown up watching movie heroes -- like John Matrix, John Rambo, and John McClane -- get the bad guy, were ready to see their idols back in action.

0 Replies

@maxdancona,

He didn't use ESL as a verb, infinitive or otherwise.

0 Replies

Is "get the bad guy were ready to see their idols back in action" a run-on?

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