Should I add a word “be” in front of “out of my mind”, just like the sentence below?
You may be out of my sight, but never BE out of my mind.
Or the sentence in the picture is okay?
Thank you!!!
You can add ‘be’ but you needn’t. It’s OK without the second ‘be’
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I don’t think, “…but never be out…” is correct, actually.
That second “be” doesn’t stand alone well. You could use “…but will never be out…”.
That said, it’s acceptable to use very creative grammar for posters (poetry, slogans, etc.)
Personally, I’d shorten it down to, “You may be out of sight, but never out of mind.”
I would probably lengthen it: “You may be out of my sight, but you are never out of my mind.” To me, that mimics the balance of the original saying “out of sight, out of mind”, even with your addition of “never”
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Ya, I like that, too.
Poetic stuff is VERY advanced, since grammar rules can be broken (aka ‘poetic licence’) in order to create rhythm (or intentionally break it) and to make a statement more effectively.
And that means using personal judgement and personal taste which reaches people in a new and memorable way.
And…without making a tragic error which results in no message, misinformation or even the opposite message to the one intended.
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I like your shortened version also, Peabianjay. It is also balanced like the original saying. My suggestion is more cumbersome, perhaps, but keeps the more personal and emphatic “my” that was in the OP’s original quote.
Totally agree about poetic language. It’s very tricky to get right and not my forte, for sure!
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“You” and “be” distribute to both halves of this compound sentence. It’s more colloquial and natural sounding as written in the poster. Note that a different use of “be” is implied in the second half: “will be”. (edit: or perhaps “are”; it’s ambiguous since it’s not stated, but no real difference in sentiment.)
If needed for clarity or emphasis then “be”, or both “you” and “be”, can be repeated in the second half. That’s most likely in a formal situation, or for more forceful impact. The meaning of the poster is meant to be endearing. But in a completely different setting you might imagine someone using it in a threatening way. Imagine the bad guy in an action movie pointing his finger at the hero’s face. He might say, “You may be out of my sight, but you will never be out of my mind!!”
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Yikes! I hadn’t thought of it that way (bad guy in the action movie), but you are absolutely right, the emphasis could take on a threatening tone. With the lovely photo in the poster, I think the meaning would be clear, and I rather like the emphasis on “my”, which to me makes it feel more personal. But maybe the shorter versions would leave less room for misinterpretation.
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The original is perfect as is.
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