that=because?

[henz988]

1. Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been || would have appeared to them to be otherwise.
That here means because, right?
2. suffer / suffer from
What’s the difference between them?
On what occasions are they used uninterchangeable?
3. modal verb
The sign shows that the Mars could once support (A)/ could have once supported (B) life.
a. Of (A) and (B), which one is natural?
b. Which of the following position of once is right?
once could have supported
could once have supported
could have once supported

[Mister Micawber]

.
1. Never imagine yourself not to be otherwise than what it might appear to others that what you were or might have been was not otherwise than what you had been || would have appeared to them to be otherwise.
That here means because, right? -- I don't think so. However, it is a ridiculously complex sentence which must have been composed as a linguistic joke, and I cannot myself get to the end of it with any shred of understanding left.



2. suffer / suffer from
What’s the difference between them?
On what occasions are they used uninterchangeable? -- I have seen this topic discussed more than once, and am still not clear on it myself. Here are some extracts:

When you use "suffer from" -- which is always followed by an object -- you are describing exactly what is *causing* the suffering. When you use "suffer," you are only stating that the suffering exists.

The transitive form, suffer injuries, means to undergo, or to have happen. It refers to specific moments in time. To suffer from is continuous, and means to have pain from. They do overlap, of course. Insults do cause emotional pain. But the point of the sentence "to suffer insults" means "to have insults said" at a certain moment in time.
Edited to add: If I use the same phrase with from, "he suffered from insults", then the emphasis shifts to "he felt pain from insults" over some period of time, perhaps throughout the school year while he was being bullied.


3. modal verb
The sign shows that the Mars could once support (A)/ could have once supported (B) life.
a. Of (A) and (B), which one is natural? -- Both sound fine to me, but they have different meanings. In A, 'could' is the past tense of 'can'-- the sign is sure proof of former life. In B, the 'could' is hypothetical-- it is possible that life was there.

b. Which of the following position of once is right? -- All three are common positions for the adverb:
once could have supported
could once have supported
could have once supported

That's the best I can do for you in this thread, Henz; sorry.
.
.

[henz988]

You have already done me a great favor. Micawber is a popular name to many sites.
To make things clear, please forgive my dull mind:

①The quoted extracts are helpful. Here, I’ll be grateful if you can give me some more excellent examples of suffer and suffer from interchangeable and uninterchangeable according to your own understanding. You know I like learning from concrete examples.
②Pls check if I’m right:
He has suffered a lot.
I cannot say
He has suffered a loss, right?
But I can also say:
He has suffered from a loss.
This sentence sounds like it is said quite a long time after he suffered, and he still feels painful. Its point lies not in his loss but his painful feeling?

[danmahaffey]

Henz, if suffer means to experience, endure, feel, or undergo something unpleasant (among other things), then as a transitive verb it has an object that is clearly stated: He suffered a tragic loss; but as an intransitive verb it has an impicit object found in the meaning of the verb itself* that appears to be caused by the object of the preposition from: He suffered [pain] from his tragic loss.
__________
* suffer, v.t., endure (some direct object); suffer, v.i., endure pain


All of these are good English:He has suffered a lot.
He has suffered a loss.
He has suffered from a loss.
PlusHe has suffered.
He has suffered a loss from a house fire.
He has suffered a lot from his losses.
He has suffered losses a lot.
He has suffered losses a lot from house fires.
He has suffered through carelessness
He has suffered by following bad advice.
He has suffered with many girl friends.
Those last three do not show true cause and effect in their prepositional phrases as do the sentences with from. They just show some variety of expression for fun.

This is the general form: subj suffer (d.o.) (adv) (prep-phrase).

With apologies to Mr. Micawber for jumping in, I hope this helps.

[Alireza]

Hi there,

suffer an injury, pain, loss, defeat etc (WITHOUT from):

The other passenger suffered serious leg injuries.
She can walk again, but she still suffers a lot of pain.
The party suffered yet another humiliating defeat in the recent by-election.

suffer from a disease, poverty, starvation, etc:

A lot of the childeren we saw were suffering from malnutrition.
Aunt Linda suffers from arthritis.
Most of the carriers suffer from hemophilia.

With apologies to Mr. Micawber and danmahaffey for jumping in, I hope this helps.:)

[danmahaffey]

Alireza, your examples are well done, and illuminating. Thanks.

By the way, how is your reading of Pride and Prejudice going?

[Alireza]

Thank you for caring about my reading.:)
It is progressing at a snail's pace! But I am determined to go through with it, considering.

[danmahaffey]

I can remember reading Chaucer in high school (Middle English) and some works in Middle Spanish in college. It is slow going when the language is older or unfamiliar, or both. I wish you well.

[henz988]

Henz, if suffer means to experience, endure, feel, or undergo something unpleasant (among other things), then as a transitive verb it has an object that is clearly stated: He suffered a tragic loss; but as an intransitive verb it has an implicit object found in the meaning of the verb itself* that appears to be caused by the object of the preposition from: He suffered [pain] from his tragic loss.
I looked up more than 20 books and dictionaries in my school’s library and, I find Dan’s conclusion, structurally, is closest to the practical use.
Sb. suffered sth1. from sth2.
If we don’t need to give out the agent that causes the suffering, then we can leave out the second part from sth2. , or otherwise we can keep it.
He has suffered a lot. ………………………………. (1)
He has suffered a loss………………………………. (2)
He has suffered from a loss…………………..……. (3)
→Indonesia suffered a lot.
→Indonesia suffered from the tsunami most seriously.
and:
He has suffered a lot from his losses………………..(4).
He suffered (a lot) from Alzheimer’s.
Alzheimer’s disease is the agent that causes the suffering.

I appreciate Alireza’s way of learning, and I like to give more examples:
Suffer+ pain, loss, punishment, insult, defeat, grief, hardship, torture. injustice, disappointment, setback, etc.
Suffer from+ overwork, lack, want, drought, provision, Alzheimer’s, etc.

He will suffer for his foolishness some day.
He suffered for what he had said.
He suffered from headaches.
He suffered with Alzheimer’s.

Thank you all
and my special thanks go to Mister Micawber, I’ll try to catch your concise explanation at the first time later.:o
Edited to add: If I use the same phrase with from, "he suffered from insults", then the emphasis shifts to "he felt pain from insults"
Thanks again!

[danmahaffey]

Henz, you have done a magnificent job in tackling and understanding a tricky word and its phrasing! I know everyone will appreciate it.

One challenge for us all (whether we help you learn our language or you help us learn yours) is to take what we understand without knowing and pass it across the language barrier to someone who will know without understanding. It is very difficult for both parties, especially in the places in the language away from the well-trafficked center.